Our Warship
by fyre-lily
Summary: Shipping is serious business. Our new protagonist takes this to a logical extreme as (s)he lands in the Puella Magi universe, and decides the best way to combat grief is with love! Currently on Hiatus because of other projects.
1. Chapter 1: Our Warship

Chapter 1: Our Warship

Things weren't always like this. All this hatred, strife, and grief in this world didn't always exist, not in the past. My teachers have always told me that man used to be primitive, without thought or emotion; merely instinct. Those days were simpler. No evil, no morals, only survival. And then the incubators came; they were monstrous beings, manipulating humanity to do their bidding and 'save the universe.' Manipulating emotions and pulling strings of innocents children to fuel their 'noble' cause. Claiming not to comprehend emotion yet playing with everyone's anyway. The incubators were monsters.

It was all over the news, weeks before the great event. A great chasm of light had formed in the sky over San Francisco, my home, making the Northern Lights look dim in comparison. Making the city look dim in comparison. Occasionally a ball of light would fly out, and then sputter out of existence. It was amusing the first few times, but after a week people began getting nervous. At first tourists would come from around the world to see the strange lights, but eventually the lights began flickering more often, creating lights showers. People began to irrationally fear the lights, fleeing the city, believing the lights to be evil and of a magical nature.

They had no idea.

A curse is a horrible thing. People die, villages mysteriously disappear, and cruel monsters are born out of mankind. But the universe has a way of balancing out curses with miracles. Curses are born out of grief as miracles are born from hope. Or at least that was what I've been taught. However, lately I've been thinking differently…

After another week, the event happened. The chasm began fluxing rapidly, shifting through all the colors of the rainbow and blinding anyone who gazed too longingly at it. The lights that were flying out of the chasm no longer disappeared and began flying around the rift. Occasionally a few would fly down to the city, but whatever they were doing was anyone's guess. Especially since there were never witnesses.

What was I doing during all of this? I was looting the empty houses for food. You see, I was just a poor boy living on the streets with a sister to feed, so when the panic set in I saw nothing but opportunity. It was difficult work, but it was ultimately worth it. Security was lacking, breaking in was physically taxing, but the payout kept my sister and I well fed and happy. For a time.

One afternoon my sister and I were squatting in a nice apartment, one we'd never dream to afford. The yellow wallpaper was a bit bland, the empty room was a bit lonely, but on the plus side the bed we were sitting on was large enough to fit both of us! I had found some spare clothes that fit us in the closet, a nice change from the usual rags we wear. I was drinking some soda I had found while sis was chewing on some bread when we heard a loud crash from the kitchen. Sis and I jumped off the bed, preparing to dash out the ground-level window. We could hear plates being broken from our room. We looked at each other with our shared green eyes, and nodded. I grabbed a knife I hold onto for emergencies from the bed, and started toward the door. I took one last look at my sister, who nodded, messing up her blonde hair.

Gingerly opening the door, I peered through the crack. Nothing. Carefully walking as not to tip off the intruder, I entered the kitchen. I raised the knife, prepared a battle stance, and… nothing.

"Whew," I relaxed, "Maybe it was a d-oof!" Something slammed me from behind. I tried to get up but something grabbed me by the feet and flung me, with superhuman strength, across the kitchen. I landed roughly after bouncing off the oak wall. Pain, agonizing pain coursed throughout my body. I barely managed to lift myself an inch off the ground, enough to look at my attacker. It was a light, nothing but a light. My eyes could not comprehend its true form; all I could see was a great mass of purple light. My eyes gradually closed as the light approached me.

Unconsciousness was bliss and uncertain. I vaguely remembered a flying sensation as I was carried like a doll. I dreamed about bright lights, and being enveloped by the chasm, devoured by the rift. I believe I opened my eyes briefly to see blood and bodies scattered about in a dark realm, ruled by a huge abomination. I could've sworn I saw a small, human figure fly around it, fighting it. Whether this was a dream or not never occurred to me, nor did I care as I fell into a deep slumber...

_Suzie…._

"Ugh, what happened last night? Did the Raff twins hit on you again?" I groaned half-heartedly as something nudged me awake. I shifted onto my back and let out a sigh. My last memories popped back into the fore of my mind and I bolted into an upright position. I jerked my head back and forth, taking my surroundings in as fast as I could. It was only until I was sure that the nightmare was over that I slumped back onto my back. It was a simple, nice apartment. A bit boring, but there was some tea stuff and platters scattered about on the nearby table. I didn't really pay attention to the details.

The nudging continued again. I opened an eye to glance at the girl poking me. She was a cutie, blonde hair with interesting curly pigtails. She had this dull look in her eyes but she was definitely curious. I noticed her schoolgirl outfit and figured she was Japanese.

"It was you, wasn't it?" I asked her, questioning last night's events. She nodded, knowing full well what I meant. I closed my eye again, mulling over everything. Everything had happened so fast, the pacing was all off. However, there was one constant in this ever-changing stream of events that I held onto.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Mami."


	2. Chapter 2: The Story Begins

**Authors Note:** _Most people mention that they don't own any respective franchise, so i should as well. I do not own any of the characters or Puella Magi Madoka Magica nor the franchise. I powered through this chapter over the last two days to have a little more than one measly little chapter. I hope you enjoy this new, feature-length chapter. I find proper pacing difficult so I do not mind criticism._

Chapter 2:The (Real) Story Begins

Stakeout was more difficult than I thought. There was more nightlife around here than I expected, not surprising considering I barely knew anything of the culture. If my observations were correct, I was somewhere in Japan judging by the strange writing on various signs and posters everywhere. For some reason I heard everyone speaking English, but I attributed that to the magical nature of my arrival. There weren't a lot of other explanations, but I was no skeptic. Despite my implied masculinity and maturity, I was only fifteen and more than willing to believe in magic. In fact, I was a bit excited.

I had my hunches about the nature of this universe ever since I saw a bit of town. It looked extremely similar to some anime I watched a while ago, and the blonde girl's reaction only served to tempt me into finding out.

My awakening wasn't very dramatic as one might believe. I had woken up and spoken what I thought the girl's name was, and she had reacted rather mildly to it. I didn't get to see much of her apartment, but she fed me and set me on my way, without telling me her name. I wasn't sure how old she was, but I bet she went to junior high or some Japanese equivalent. She was kind, solemn, and rather quiet for a girl nursing an injured stranger. Fortunately I was fully healed when I woke up. Who knows how long I was out for?

After that encounter, I left her apartment and searched throughout the neighborhood for any familiar faces. My curiosity kept gnawing with hunger as I explored, seeing fantastic wonders can do that. Everyone's hair was so strange! Some people had different colored hair, some had wacky hairstyles, and even people dressed completely goofy went about their business unnoticed. I could've sworn I saw a ninja, but it disappeared as soon as I looked. I wondered if I could get away with dyeing my boring hair red or something… Anyway, the houses were looked pretty normal, what an average American boy would expect from a foreign country.

I didn't have much of a plan at the moment. All I wanted to do was find someone to give me my bearings about this universe (unless Japan is really that eccentric, then again America is probably worse), so I could gather information. Illiteracy was a trial, making me unable to tell the date because everything was written in Japanese. And well, I was too shy to talk to anyone. I was afraid someone could tell I was a foreigner and call the police on some random delinquent. Especially now, since I was in a tree observing a random neighborhood. Everything here was inconsistent with normal neighborhoods though, much different than my universe. I sighed, resolving to research more about Japan.

I scanned each home as lights were turned on, gazed upon the streets for any passerby's with familiar uniforms. Sighing, I estimated how long the night was going to be. A few hours passed as I sat perched upon that tree, up until the wee hours of twilight. The last thing I remember was closing my eyes to rest up a bit and falling asleep. In my defense, I had nowhere to go (should've remembered that girl's address!). When I opened my eyes it was morning, and the road was rather wet.

"Ugh…" I was soaked. The clothes I had "borrowed" were heavy with water. I never would have thought that plaid was absorbent. I giggled at this musing; not knowing what it was made out of anyway. But my blue jeans were extremely dark as I crawled into a sitting position. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. During my rather humid awakening, I heard a few whispers passing by. Opening my eyes, I could see schoolchildren my age passing by, whispering about the crazy kid sleeping in the rain.

"Pff, judgmental much? I whispered to myself. I was rather tempted to ask one of schoolchildren for information, but decided my current state was too uncivil. On the other hand, someone else made that decision for me. From the edge of my vision came a black shoe aimed for my head. I was flung backward, onto my back, from a powerful kick.

"So you're the peeping pervert I've been hearing so much about!" declared a girly voice. I looked up, holding my poor, aching head. Some girl in a school uniform stood before me, sporting a short blue hairdo. She seemed oddly familiar, though that was the least of my concern.

"Ow ow, what- what are you talking about?" I asked, gritting my teeth. Her words had dug a wound into my conscience, but I was peeping for benign reasons.

"You were in that tree all night peeping!" She exclaimed.

"You can't prove anyth-" She pointed at my tree. I cursed under my breath. The girl had figured me out. I didn't find who I was looking for but she had to do.

"Are you Saysake?" I asked her. She gave me the strangest look and shook her head.

"Sayake?" shake, "Sasake?" shake, "Sakura?" shake, "Sakuna?"

"No shut up! What's it to you?" Bluey interrogated. I twiddled my thumbs nervously, wondering how to go about this. I decided to go with the more direct approach.

"I'm looking for pink-haired girl. You know: ribbons, pigtails, kind of short, maybe has a stalker or two?" I said, making gestures with my hands to emphasize my hazy description. Blue hair stepped back with a confused expression.

"What do you want with Madoka?" Bluey asked nervously, pointing at me with a shaking finger. I considered it impolite, but forgave her considering the circumstances.

"Eh…" my mind buzzed with possible lies I could use, "I was told to go find her. She… needs my help!" The truth was a little tweaked, but it was believable enough for the girl. She sighed, rubbing her head.

"Oh come on, you're a mess. There should be a spare uniform at school you can wear. Do you live nearby?"

"No, I'm not from around here," I answered, grinning.

It took a few minutes, but we arrived at her school. It looked like any other school, so I didn't bother to gaze at it for more than a few moments. After giving me her name (Sayaka), another boy in some dressing room was kind enough to lend me a spare uniform. I stepped out as Sayaka nodded her approval, going as far to smile. Leading the way, she deemed it necessary to start a conversation.

"So how do you know Madoka?" I scratched my head, wondering how to answer that. I wasn't sure if I was right and I was in some alternate universe based off some manga I read, but I couldn't remember all that much anyway. The school setting wasn't helping all that much.

"Eh… I don't really. All I know is that I need to help her somehow." Sayaka looked at me with a gleam in her eye and a crooked smile.

"You like her, don't you? Are you going to confess?" I sighed, figuring this was going to happen sooner or later. Girls in this universe aren't much different. However the gleam in her eye wasn't mischief, so I decided to appeal to her helpful nature.

"No, I really have to help her. It's about her… cat!" Cat was the first thing that came to mind from some vague memory. Sayaka narrowed her eyes at me, coldly calculating. After a moment of deliberation she sighed and relaxed.

"Do you know?"

"Know about what?"

"The thing?"

"What thing?!" Sayaka checked the hallway to make sure we were alone.

"Kyubey." The name sent a shiver down my spine. It wasn't the proof I was looking for. No, it was far worse. I had been spirited away to a new world, a dangerous new world. One with magic, miracles, and curses.

"I… I know him," I admitted, "so that's why I have to speak with Madoka!" Teal-head obviously had more questions, but class was about to start. She led me to her classroom (since I couldn't read), and briefly spoke with the teacher. Everyone sat down at their tiny desks when it was time and the teacher beckoned me to stand before the class.

"Hi, I'm Nova! Carnahan Nova! Wait, that's what you do in Japan, right?" I fumbled. The teacher nodded. "Um, I'm from America and my papers got messed up, so it might take a while to be fully registered, but until then- eh… take care of me? Do I bow or something?" The teacher sighed, waving her hand. I proceeded to bow at the class. I'd say as a first impression, I did pretty well. During class the girls were murmuring about the funny foreigner while the guys kept passing me notes to join them in soccer afterschool. Everyone was interested in me because I was new, rather than being popular. It felt nice to be wanted for once; my previous school experience had not gone so well. After basking in the glow of fresh popularity during the teacher's lecture on Japanese history, I began searching the class for pink hair. Fortunately for me, I got the back corner seat with a window. I'm not sure if that was a coincidence or not.

Two rows in front, 3 desks to the right sat the pink haired girl, Madoka. She seemed normal enough, though odd with the red ribbons in her hair. Pigtails looked decent on her, but it still looked strange to me. Then again, she was going for cute so I suppose it worked. Despite several people around the city sporting pink hair, I still found it rather unusual. Even her eyes were pink! I felt weird having different colored eyes; maybe I should dye it… I resolved to wait until the end of the day to talk to pink hair.

Eventually, after several hours of boring classes that I didn't even understand, the school day ended. My target managed to dash out of the classroom before I could even begin to approach her. As I tried running to the exit, an upperclassmen blocked the way from the hall. I tried moving around her, but the brunette stood there chatting on her phone. Knowing it's rude in most cultures to hit girls, I just tapped her shoulder and passed by. In spite of my swiftness, Madoka was lost to me. There was no way of finding her by the time I exited the school, so there'd be no way to follow. Hopefully Sayaka would mention me…

Sad that I would have to spend another night under the stars, I sulked in the park nearby. The closest bench was a little damp, but it had to do. I sat back for a few minutes and breathed deeply, trying to collect my thoughts. My nirvana lasted mere moments when a green haired girl ran by crying about how girls can't love girls.

"Homophobic jerk," I muttered, "heh, that's oddly familiar." I processed this for a moment, wondering at the significance of this event. Then it hit me! For some reason I figured Madoka was nearby! But wait a minute, didn't that happen before school? I couldn't remember the girl's name, but I distinctly remembered that event from some manga or whatever I read. Figuring it was my only lead, I decided to go the direction the girl came from. I grinned at my reasoning.

"Continuity is for p-ouch!" I cried, tripping over a random rock. Even though I had only been an orphan for a year, I had gotten quite fast from all the market practice. However, today I did not watch my step. Sprawling on the ground in pain, I barely noticed the pitter-patter of two pairs of feet running my way. My body was much sorer than I had thought; I should've been easier on myself. A younger girl voiced her concern to Sayaka, probably was Madoka.

"Are you okay?" The kind girl asked with the sweetest tone. She was so sincere I was afraid of contracting diabetes. I picked myself up and looked at her, taking the incredibly sight in.

This was real.

My knowledge of this universe (if only slightly correct) was limited, but I did remember a few key points. Magic, evil witch things, gems and seeds, and something about time travel. While looking at Madoka, it dawned on me that I had no idea how to talk to girls, let alone about this. So I decided to screw tact and just get to the point.

"Are you a magical girl?" I asked bluntly, breaking the ice rather forcibly. She stepped back, eyes wide, and let out a tiny gasp. I couldn't help but chuckle as her friend made that perplexed look once again. Subtlety is for the weak.

"How do you know about magical girls?" Sayaka anxiously asked. My answer was swift.

"I've been magically transported from another dimension and plan to save the world with my knowledge of manga and ingenuity."

"Really." I nodded, only half lying. The world didn't really need saving, but I've always wanted to say it. I mean, the dimension part was already audacity, so what's a little white lie?

"Anyway," I said, stretching my arms, "I have nowhere to sleep tonight. I know this is rather rude and a tad intrusive, but can I stay the night?" Sayaka opened her mouth to protest, but shut it. She knew I had spent the night on the street. Though that reminded me, where were the cops? Madoka, no surprise, invited me over the night despite my masculinity. I walked the girls home properly, as a young man should. At Sayaka's residence, the girls made their goodbyes and Sayaka gave me a firm handshake, and Madoka led me away.

Her parents were rather accepting of me. Her mother was constantly busy and didn't speak to me too much, but her father sat me down and gave a brief interview. Deciding I wasn't some killer or worse, he decided to lend me the couch for the night. Dinner was uneventful. I never had the dish served to me before and was not prepared for the taste. It looked like meat covered in some sauce I didn't recognize. Not wanting to be rude, I ate it without complaint. It tasted like squid; I hate squid. Her father decided to treat their new guest and gave me a small piece of cake, which was incredibly delicious.

The law of the house was that I had to sleep on the couch, but Madoka's parents allowed me to visit with her in the sanctuary of her room. Madoka sat on her pink (surprise) hearted bed while I sat on the floor. Her room was so damn pink I felt like I was having an insulin attack.

"So, are you a traveler from another world?" Madoka asked innocently, completely believing my half-truth. Hopefully she didn't actually believe the manga part; otherwise I'd have my doubts about her (even though it's true). I nodded in confirmation.

"I can tell you all about it, but I need to speak with Kyubey." Madoka gave an understanding nod, and proceeded to call him with her mind or something. Only five minutes later he leaped through the open window and into the room. He looked like a weird cat, two sets of ears with rings and the biggest tail ever. The red ring on his back looked strange as well. He met my stare with his trademark expression and thus a connection was made.

"So you can see me," Kyubey said; I nodded, "that means you have potential… but you are a boy."

"I can see where this is going. I'm from another world; maybe the rules of magic are different?"

"Unlikely. The existences of other worlds are impossible without the use of time travel. This is curious… if you are from another world, this makes you an anomaly. However I cannot make a contract with you, even to unleash your potential."

"Why not?"

"We contract magical girls to fight witches, in order to preserve the natural order. However, even with your potential, I cannot grant you a wish because of the gender barrier." I stared at him, pursing my lips at his comment.

"A creature that grants miracles and turns teenage girls into magical warriors is hindered by gender." I deadpanned.

"Yes." I sighed, wondering what I could possibly do. I had my reasons for considering this. I didn't have much time to muse over my plans, catering to my mysterious side. However, I really needed Kyubey's help. If he couldn't grant my miracle directly…

"So you can't grant me a miracle because I'm not a girl, right?"

"That is correct. I cannot make a contract with someone who cannot be a magical girl."

"What if…" I trailed off, scratching my head, "my wish was to be a girl?"

"Eh?" Madoka squeaked, nearly forgotten by me. Kyubey tilted his head in mock curiosity.

"Hypothetically, that may be possible. There is no precedent for it. By becoming female you will gain even more magic potential, but I will not be able to grant you another wish." I pondered it for a moment, wondering if it was worth it. I didn't remember much, but being a magical girl was not all fun and games. But there was definitely something I needed to do, and depending on adolescent girls was not one of my options. So I opted for it.

"Eh, why not?" I shrugged, not caring too much about my masculinity anymore. It was the least of my concerns. Kyubey trotted closer to me and did some wavy thing with his ears. Madoka watched me curiously, making this the first time she's ever seen a magical girl created. The process was rather painful, considering my soul was extracted and compressed into an egg-shaped gem. The details were not that important, nor do I remember them, but it was painful. And bright. All I remember about the process was a glowing orange light.

When it was over, the first thing I felt was ease. The dull pain of my entire body from the last few days was completely gone. I felt renewed and at ease. Madoka was sitting on her bed, legs crossed, staring at me. I looked down at my body to see what was so impressive.

"Uh, Kyubey, I don't think it worked," I informed him, checking out my still-male body. I didn't see my soul gem anywhere, which was making me a little worried.

"Do not worry. Your wish was granted." The demon cat declared as he hopped up onto the window sill.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I yelled at him, furious at the transformation failure. Kyubey looked at me one last time.

"I do not understand why, but I assure you tonight will be eventful." The white cat thing leaped out of sight into the night, leaving Madoka and I nonplussed. The rest of the evening was uneventful as Madoka taught me things about Japan I should know, such as boundaries and taboos that would be best to remember. I asked her questions about the recent timeline of events, seeing what was different than I remembered.

Homura still appeared to be cold and heartless

Madoka didn't know any magical redheads

Sayaka hadn't made her wish yet

"Hm, that's interesting. What was that green haired girl screaming about earlier?" I asked Madoka. I knew that event was supposed to have happened earlier.

"Oh," Madoka blushed, "just some fun from a few days ago. Hitomi keeps teasing us about me being Sayaka's wife someday." I tilted my head, trying to read the subtext. Madoka seemed nervous as she twiddled her thumbs, but otherwise completely normal. I decided to be daring.

"Do you agree? That girls can't..?" I turned my head away, hoping that wasn't too abrasive.

"I think-"

"BED!" Screamed Mr. Kaname as he burst into Madoka's room. The once gentle man scared me senseless, I even screeched. Taking a moment to scan the room, he decided no funny business happened and escorted me out. I felt like a delinquent but was more than happy that awkward moment had passed. While the floor in Madoka's room had been comfortable enough, nothing could describe the couch. It had felt like weeks since I had slept on something soft, so soft that I fell asleep seconds after the lights were turned off. Mr. Kaname was kind enough to give me a comfy wool blanket. Warm, soft, and pink blankets were more than enough to send me to sleep.

Morning came like the end of summer: much too soon. Sunlight peeked through the windows, assaulting my face with its intrusive warmth. I woke up exhausted. Madoka stepped lightly through the hallway toward me, rubbing the drowsiness from her eyes. Her hair was messy and let down but otherwise fine. Supposedly the ribbons were a charming point.

"Good sleep last night?" She yawned, not completely awake. I opened my mouth to answer.

"…"

"Eh, what was that?" Pinky asked me, rubbing her ears. I tried again.

"!" I jolted up, alarmed. I grasped my throat as it burned, rendering me mute. Madoka saw my alarm and ran up to me. She cried at me, wondering what was wrong. I flailed and gestured at my throat, starting to lose my ability to breathe. It took her a moment to process this, but she grabbed my hand and ran me to the bathroom. Her two-story house was surprisingly big, and the bathroom was no exception. Of course, I didn't have time to examine it. Once we got inside I ran to the sink and tried to clear my throat. I clasped at it and tried punching my stomach to no avail. Madoka tried giving me the Heimlich maneuver.

_Plop_.

Thanks to a well-placed thrust, what obstructed my throat was ejected into the sink. I took a deep breath, relishing the cool air. A vow to enjoy breathing from now on was made. Madoka and I peered into the sink, wondering what could have burnt my throat so harshly. Lying in the sink was an orange gem. My soul gem. I picked it up gingerly, examining it. It was beautiful, completely clear. However, I knew it would soon be dirtied.

"Cool!" I cheered, "But why is it orange?" I turned to Madoka. She seemed rather taller than before.

"Eh," She said nervously, rubbing her head and lost with words. I blinked, wondering why she was staring at me so.

"Say Madoka, how'd you get so tall? You're almost as tall as me now!" I asked her; remember that I was at least a head taller. Madoka closed her eyes and smiled, pointing at the mirror. The events began processing in my head properly as I had woken up. It began to dawn to me. I slowly walked in front of the mirror. My reflection had changed. Instead of an average boy….

"Damn, I'm hot! I mean, oh no I'm a girl now…" A girly look appeared in the mirror in front of me. I now had long, orange-reddish hair and nice orange irises on my eyes. I looked down to inspect my new body. My clothes were sagging and loose, I had probably shrunk down quite a bit; I was even lacking in the upper department but I didn't care all that much. All that matter was…

"SCHOOL!" Mrs. Kaname screamed from the kitchen, reminding us it was not the weekend quite yet. Determined to not be discovered so early, I borrowed a skirt from Madoka without complaint, put it into her book bag, and just wore the loose school uniform I was already wearing. We tried sneaking out the door but Mr. Kaname asked us if we wanted breakfast. He gave me a narrowed eyed look and Madoka shrugged in response, mentioning something about drama club. Apparently he bought it and we managed to escape without further questioning. The walk to school felt different, as I felt lighter and stronger. My soul gem felt heavy in my pocket as Madoka promised to introduce me to Mami later.

I felt an odd feeling of déjà vu when I introduced myself to the class as "Nancy". I was sat in the corner by the window as the boys talked about the funny foreign girl and the girls kept passing me notes to play soccer with them afterschool. Classes that day were boring, but I didn't feel the need to listen anyway. Having two transfer students in a row with the same excuse didn't seem to faze the class, even with the first having mysteriously disappeared. I was worried about using a similar alias, but nobody cared. Either people in this city were oblivious or just plain stupid.

After classes that day Madoka and I caught up to the blonde and blue, Mami and Sayaka were engrossed in some conversation about magic. Madoka squealed and ran up to Mami, excitedly explaining the situation. Sayaka just looked at me with an amused grin as she sized me up. I was about the size as her now, I gulped at the realization. I knew I could rely on the social stigma of violence, but that wouldn't stop her completely. My head almost ached from last time.

"So, your wish was to be a magical girl?" Mami asked back in her apartment, as she served cake. Her home was rather clean, as if she rarely has guests. I nodded.

"It was the only wish I was able to make." My statement made her fall silent for a moment. Everyone still had their questions, however.

"Did you want to be female?" Mami asked delicately, probably hesitant to accuse me of any tomfoolery.

"Eh, doesn't really matter. But if it helps me achieve my goal, then it has to be done," came my determined answer. The girls exchanged looks, not understanding my vague answer. Mami motioned for me to continue.

"Well, you see I have to…" I trailed off for a moment. My memories were a bit vague, but something was tugging at the edge of my mind, warning me not to reveal too much. _Listen,_ my memory told me, _loosen your lips and blood will spill_. As much as a threat as it sounded, I decided to forgo my original explanation and opt for another. My mind raced as I desperately thought for an excuse to use when Kyubey walked into the room. _Figures, _I thought. Of course he'd be here; no wonder Mami doesn't have guests often. She probably keeps him around for company! As much as I hate the guy, I needed his help. This timeline was a bit muddled than what I remembered, so I was determined to derail it as soon as possible.

_"Kyubey," _I thought, _"meet us at the hospital. I think a grief seed is there."_ Kyubey looked at me oddly.

_"You're right. How did you know?"_

_ "Doesn't matter. Don't tell anyone, we'll be right there."_ I didn't know how long grief seeds take to appear, but I was confident the little cat monster could conjure it up. Kyubey left the room as quickly as he left without the girls ever realizing he was there. They looked back at where he was, following my eyes, but with nothing to see their attention snapped back.

"I have to find my sister," I admitted to them. I had more ulterior motives yet to be revealed, but I did kind of miss my sister. My departure was magic-based, so there was really no other way to get back without it. The girls nodded understandingly while Mami just gave me dull look, complete with a smile. Something told me she was a little unstable. I gave Kyubey a few minutes before I pretended to jolt in surprise.

"What's the matter?" a concerned Mami asked. I grabbed my soul gem and held it to my ear. I opened my mouth for added effect.

"There's a grief seed at the hospital! Quick, we have to go get it before it hatches!" I shouted, hoping to inspire heroism in the young girls. With no time to explain, the girls quickly put on their shoes and ran with me to the hospital. It was rather difficult with my new center of balance, but I did pretty well for a first time. We arrived within the hour and saw the grief seed stuff on the outer wall, glowing. Kyubey was there, tail twitching.

"The barrier is close to opening," Kyubey reported. I had to briefly ask Mami what that was. Apparently it's some labyrinth created by a witch to represent its twisted psych and grief. They hide themselves with their familiars within. It was too late to just grab the seed; it was about to open anyway so Mami decided to give me a crash course in transforming. She explained magic would make the seed react, but it was going to happen anyway at this point. Mami demonstrated how to hold the egg and summon the magic within as she transformed into a frilly yellow dress, her magical girl outfit. I sighed, hoping I wouldn't look as ridiculous. I tried my best, but couldn't manage to do it. We decided it was because I wasn't in danger and would have to practice more. Sayaka was smart enough to grab a baseball bat on the way out, so we decided we'd enter the barrier together. I voiced concern about Madoka, but she guaranteed Mami would be strong enough to take down any witches.

Eventually the seed disappeared in a flash of a light and the air being shimmering. Mami led the way as we entered the barrier. I had an odd feeling of dread. Entering the barrier was a cool sensation, a different kind of magic than Mami emanated. The barrier filled me with wonder as I stood, awestruck, gazing at the giant food scattered about. I knew witches were evil, but if one was ever likeable, it was this one. My stomach growled in jealousy. As we explored the labyrinth, Mami suddenly stopped.

"What are you doing here?" Mami asked, whipping around to face the girl following us. I immediately recognized her.

"Hey! I know her!" I shouted.

"You do?" Homura asked.

"You're Madoka's lesbian stalker, right?"

"EH?!"

I had never been kicked so hard in my life.


	3. Chapter 3: Woe to the Caterpillar

**Authors Note:** _Most people mention that they don't own any respective franchise, so I should as well. I do not own any of the characters or Puella Magi Madoka Magica nor the franchise. Spoiler Alert: Crappy fight scene. You have been warned._

_EDIT: I have fallen a little behind because of multiple college essays (midterms) I'll resume a normal schedule soon and maybe throw in a little bonus_

Chapter 3: Woe to Caterpillar

"Sayaka! You didn't have to kick him!" Madoka complained out of my sight, as I lay on the soft ground in agonizing pain. Perhaps I had been a little too blunt. I didn't know how much head trauma I could take, but even magical girls have to have limits. Being American was no excuse for social awkwardness, so I vowed to try harder. After a minute I picked myself up. Mami, polite as always, had waited for me rather than go after the witch herself. On my knees, I snuck a glance at Sayaka. She was preoccupied with Madoka's lecture on excessive violence. The dark haired girl wearing our school uniform approached as Mami lent me a hand. She gave me a knowing, yet cold glance but otherwise did not react to my outburst.

"Seriously though, why are you here?" I asked her. It was a fair question considering how creepy she was being. She narrowed her eyes calculatingly.

"Mami cannot defeat this witch alone, especially not with a new magical girl." I puffed my cheeks in my best attempt to pout. Ignoring the lackluster pout, the girl turned to Mami.

"This is your last warning. You cannot defeat this witch, so allow me to." Mami's face took on an irritated expression, and raised her hand as if to use magic. I intercepted this exchange with my incredibly charm.

"Wait a minute, hate to interrupt your lover's quarrel, but who are you exactly?" I asked the girl.

"My name is Homura. You don't remember much, do you?" Homura answered, flipping her hair. I did have to admit it made her look rather cool, but I wondered what the point was.

"I'm sorry. I was unconscious for…. Um…"

"Three days," Mami helped. I flashed my thankful smile. Really, that long? No wonder my memory is all muddled!

"Yeah, three days. So excuse my hazy memory. How did you recognize me despite my… makeover?" I inquired, laying a hand on my hip.

"Your American lack of tact and your disregard for honorifics." Was her reply.

"Hey! That's not my fault! For some reason I'm not translating that very well," I defended, referring to some strange magic that allowed me to understand everyone's speech. For some reason I couldn't hear honorifics, so I just called everyone by their first name and hoped for the best. It also helped I was a girl anyway, so it didn't matter that much in this setting. After a few hours around the girls I kind of stopped questioning it, no point in worrying.

"So, will you accept my assistance?" Homura asked Mami once more. Mami looked down thoughtfully and pondered for a moment. She made eye contact with Homura and spoke calmly.

"If it's the grief seed you're after, you could just ask. However, since you seem to be familiar with our eccentric friend, I will allow you to accompany me on this hunt." Kyubey, who had been silent until this point, shot Mami a perplexed (yet still blank) look. Our group of five and one cat continued onward to the witch's lair now that Homura had been accepted. Mami has subtly placed Madoka by her side as she led the group, separating her from Homura. Sayaka walked alongside Homura quietly. I drifted behind the group, observing everyone. Oddly enough there was a clear path to walk on. Off to our right strange familiars were wandering about, but they weren't attacking. This struck me as odd. Didn't Mami notice them? I picked up my pace a bit and whispered my concern to Homura.

"They probably just haven't noticed us yet. Try not to use magic or else that might change," She whispered. I choked up a bit.

"Eh… speaking of magic, mind helping me out a bit?" Homura locked eyes with me. For once she didn't look cold, rather she was bemused.

"I suppose I owe you a bit," she admitted. I rolled my eyes. She's got that right! Though I suppose I owe her as well… My train of thought was derailed by Sayaka's outburst.

"I see it!" Sayaka pointed toward a gate a few yards ahead of us. Running toward it we could see a glowing grief seed within. Mami opened the gate for us so we could get a closer look. The grief seed looked like a black seed with long spikes on both ends. And it was glowing brightly. Mami sighed.

"It's too late. The seed is about to hatch. Sayaka, Madoka, you should go hide," declared Mami as she flashed a gentle smile.

"Mami, I need to tell you something," Madoka said, nervously.

"What is it Madoka? The seed is about to hatch, so we must be brief." Madoka breathed in to calm herself.

"Now that Homura and Na-na-na…. are here, you don't have to fight alone anymore! And Sayaka and I will be here, cheering you on!" I raised my eyebrows at her, wondering why she couldn't pronounce my name. Good thing she kept it short, because the grief seed chose that moment to flash once more, hatching.

A new gate appeared and opened, resembling food boxes, revealing really, really tall chairs and tables. Perched upon a chair was what I assumed to be the witch. Even from a distance I could tell it was incredibly cute. It appeared to be a doll with pink hair; it looked kind of like Madoka! Despite being a former boy, I couldn't help but reveal my feminine side.

"Will you please stop that?" Homura asked coldly, as I squealed in glee. I wiped a tear as I calmed down. Homura flashed purple briefly to reveal her magical girl form. She noticed my envious look and transformed back. I gave her a confused look.

"Here, I'll help you transform." She held up her hand to which I handed her my soul gem reluctantly. She gave me a brief demonstration on summoning the magic and activating the soul gem, mimicking the movements with my soul gem (obviously not actually transforming). I received my soul gem from her and copied the movements. During the last motion, I closed my eyes in concentration and focused just the way Mami and Homura told me too. I raised the soul gem in front of me and slowly opened my eyes. An orange glow briefly blinded me.

"You look really pretty. Like autumn," Mami beamed at me, looking me up and down. I felt oddly uncomfortable, yet flattered by that. Then I realized it must have worked, considering my hands were now empty. I looked down and saw my new dress. One word: Lolita. My costume was a nice, elegant Lolita dress resembling an orange leaf wrapped around me. Around my neck was an orange gem necklace, my soul gem. On my right arm was what appeared to be an auburn shield cannon strapped to my arm. It was too small to be a proper shield, but had an opening to shoot… something. I felt something on my back, but couldn't see it from this angle. It felt like a backpack, but I honestly couldn't tell. My hands reached my hair, noticing it had changed slightly. Rather than completely down, some of it was pinned up on one side. I made a mental note to replicate this later.

"The witch hasn't moved yet," Mami observed as the witch continued to sit on its chair, "so if you want to figure out your weapon, I recommend you do it now. However, Homura and I will be more than enough to take down this witch, so focus on the familiars please." I nodded in agreement. Shaking my arm wasn't enough to activate the cannon, so I tried focusing magic again. The cannon glowed and ejected a strange substance at the ground. I picked the glowing green substance. It felt like a cross between jelly and silk. Mami smiled her approval as Homura stared at the witch.

"Has it really not noticed us yet?" I asked the two, "I mean three transformations and all. Either that witch is stupid or a complete welcome mat. A welcome mat with an appetite." Mami pondered this for a moment, and then shrugged. She reached out her hand and summoned a musket as Homura pulled out a gun from her shield. How she did that I'll never know.

"Ready to face your first witch?" Mami asked me. I nodded. The three of us exchanged glances once more, as the witch was sure to react once we approached. After a silent countdown, we ran toward the witch.

My first battle had begun. Homura and Mami ran ahead, taking out familiars left and right. The familiars looked like food, but were hard to make out due to their speed and unnatural appearance. For the most part the familiars were ignoring me for some reason. One stopped in its tracks and turned, facing me. I grinned mischievously, happy that my first fight was going to be a single familiar. It was easy enough to practice my abilities before the rest noticed me. The familiar rushed toward me as I jumped into the air. I raised my arm as I was in the air, upside down, and fired a silk dart. It pierced the familiar and caused it to dissipate. I felt slightly tired as I landed. I looked down at my cannon. For some reason I felt that firing darts was inefficient. I summoned more magic and slowly fired a stream of silk. Satisfied with the length, I ripped the silk out of the cannon and brandished my new weapon, the whip.

I was still hesitant to take on a large group of familiars, but I stepped out of my comfort zone and attacked a group. I swung my whip with my left hand at the group. Snapping my wrist, and with the help of the whip's magic, I split a familiar in two. Deciding to be daring, I spun counter-clockwise and switched hands mid-spin to create a powerful whip slash, completely slicing the group.

"Look like the gang's all split up," I quipped, grinning at my own joke. It was exhilarating; I've never experience so much power! I honestly felt like an Olympian. Whether it was due to my new body or the magic, the result was amazing. No normal person could jump and flip like I did!

"Hey! Maybe you should stop checking yourself out and bash more monsters!" An angry voice cried out. I sighed, reluctantly pulling my attention back to the fight. Sayaka was right, even if she was hiding in safety. The familiars were swarming around the magical veterans hopelessly. It was obvious they could take care of it themselves, but it was my job to keep the swarm off their back so they wouldn't have to waste power. I gulped, readying myself for a challenge. Raising my arm toward the larger swarm, I charged a larger silk dart. Concentrating took a bit out of me, but I managed to gather enough magic to fire off an explosive round. The dart shot toward the group and exploded in an orange mushroom. The magic dust cleared, revealing a purple shield around Homura and Mami. Thankfully I hadn't accidently hurt them, but I had a larger concern; the familiars began rushing ME.

It was quite a rush, fighting the larger crowd. I dodged, weaved, jumped and spun with my whip and cannon. It was easy to see why Mami and others could enjoy this as I whipped one familiar rushing my flank while shooting a familiar is front of me with a well-aimed spike. It took about five minutes but eventually all the familiars were gone. I wiped the sweat off my brow and turned to the other, wondering why the witch wasn't dead yet. Mami was swinging her musket at the cute doll-like witch and repeatedly shooting it. Homura shot at it unenthusiastically a few times with a pistol.

"Damn, that thing is really resilient, isn't it?" I commented as I walked toward Mami. She was standing in front of it as it lay on the ground, motionless. It was nearly as big as I was! I poked at it with my foot. The doll twitched a little bit and overwhelmed me with its cuteness. Forgetting the danger we were in, I swooped down and picked it up in a hug. Mami just gave me a blank stare and Homura just stared at me as usual. I giggled girlishly and squeezed the doll. That was my last mistake that day.

"Na…na back away slowly," Mami commanded slowly in a reassuring tone while aiming a musket at me. My eyes widened in fear.

"What are you doing? Whoa, oh sh-"was my panicked cry as the doll convulsed and a huge monster came out of it! It seemed like everything happened in slow motion as a huge, snake-like monster came out of the doll with a face of a clown. The monster reared up, then rushed down toward Mami opening its mouth, revealing incredibly sharp teeth. The only thing I could do in that time was watch in horror as the monster began closing its jaws…

"Oof!" Mami gasped as Homura tackled her in an incredibly fast save. The monster bit the ground and recoiled in pain. The witch reared up once more. The doll body I was holding began tugging on me as the witch tried to move toward the girls.

"Try to hold it off as I kill it!" Homura shouted at me as she pulled out a hand-made explosive. I dug my heels in as the witch initiated a monstrous game of tug-of-war with me. My shoes began filling with sugary dirt as I was dragged upright across the battlefield. Despite its lack of range, the snake witch lunged at the girls as Homura threw her explosives and Mami shot at it as a distraction. The witch's body blew up, but quickly regenerated from the doll I was carrying. The doll itself was virtually indestructible, so how do we defeat it?

Homura was a blur, repeatedly jumping from table to table, but after a few minutes she began to slow down to a normal, albeit magical, level. She kept throwing explosive after explosive, but in a critical moment reached toward her shield and received nothing. Homura was out of ammo! The witch gave a final lunge toward her with a surge of strength that pulled me off the ground. I screamed as I was swung into the air, holding the doll. The motion blurred my vision, but I could still made out the jaws of the beast approaching Homura at a speed even she couldn't avoid. Madoka's scream rung throughout the air helplessly as we watched Homura's impending doom.

"No!" I screamed as I hugged the doll fiercely. An orange glow illuminated my arms and the doll as I clutched it in desperation. I don't know what magic I had, but it had to do something! Even to just slow the witch down. An orange light burst from within me, effectively blinding me.

"Eh?" was the response from five separate voices as the witch convulsed once more. Rather than another body emerging from a previous form, the snake retracted slowly back in the glowing, orange doll. The doll and I fell toward the earth and I landed with a harsh thud onto concrete.

"What, what just happened?" I asked the girls, eyeing them from the ground.

"I don't know. The barrier just disappeared; I've never see one dissolve so fast... You must have weakened the witch," Mami speculated as she transformed in a yellow flash. Homura followed suit. Speaking of the witch…

"OH MY GOD IT'S SO CUTE!" I squealed as I gazed upon the witch doll in my arms. The doll was a much more manageable size, around the size of Kyubey. Nuzzling the doll with my cheek was so comforting, to say the least. The doll wiggled a little bit without trying to escape. I played with its candy like hair with my hand. The miniature witch felt like a living plush doll. Except this time I could squeeze it all I want without a ravenous snake exploding out of it.

"Can we keep it?" I begged Mami. My fellow magical girls responded by lifting their soul gems, revealing them to be dirtied with black fluid. I checked up on mine to reveal too, that my soul gem was dull. Mine was especially so, probably due to my inept use of magic and the inefficient spell I must have used.

"Come on, please? She's not going to eat anyone anymore. Don't you guys have a spare grief seed or something?" Homura sighed and reached into her pocket to divulge one of her spares. Once again I squealed as we cleaned our gems, and I continued my cuddle with the witch. A cuddle that was soon interrupted by our pink haired friend.

"It's almost as cute as Kyubey!" Madoka declared, having dropped Kyubey to embrace my witch. Sharing would be rather difficult, but I allowed Madoka to accompany me in showering the witch with love and affection.

"A witch is a creature born from grief and curses. Why don't you just kill it and take its grief seed?" Kyubey asked me with telepathy. I responded with a raspberry.

"Well, it hasn't killed anyone yet. I guess we could keep it around…" Sayaka commented, rubbing her head in a perplexed gesture. Damn straight I was keeping it.

"Wait guys, I just had an idea!" I shouted. I motioned the group to spread out away from me. After the four girls had backed up, I hugged the doll as hard as I could. A grey light surrounded us, and the light was imbued into the doll. The doll wiggled a little bit in confusion as the glow subsided. Poor thing was probably tired of magic for the day.

"Hey cutie, what's your name?" I asked, giving the doll a swift kiss on the head. I knew I was basically waving at my masculinity as it passed by, but the cuteness of this doll was too much.

"Cha… char… Charlotte…" came a soft, female voice. Everyone looked in wonder at the doll, Charlotte, who had spoken for the first time. I couldn't handle it any longer. Even her voice was cute!

"You just used magic to translate for a witch. How? There's no precedent for that ever happening," Kyubey inquired, tilting his head. I shrugged.

"Same reason I can suddenly speak Japanese."

"Big sister, what's your name?" the childish voice of the witch I held asked. I squeezed it once more.

"My name is Nancy, for now."

"Na...na? Nana?" I stopped my merciless squeezing.

"Is my name that hard to pronounce?" I asked the entire group. Mami smiled nervously, Homura just stared, and Madoka and Sayaka were nodding for their lives. A sigh escaped my lips.

"Excuse me for being American," I retorted, "What else would you like to call me then, Charlotte?" Charlotte grabbed her head with her stubby arms and thought for a moment.

"Aki! Aki!" Charlotte cheered, bouncing in my arms. Madoka and Sayaka giggled.

"Just like your dress! We should call you Akiharumi!" Sayaka suggested.

"Yeah! Orenji Akiharumi!" Madoka added to the brainstorm. I thought about it for a moment. I obviously couldn't use that at school, now that I gave a name already, but a Japanese nickname would be easier on my new friends. I shrugged in acceptance.

"Sure, why not? What does that mean anyway?"

"Orange fall spring beauty," Homura translated as always.

"Just like you," Mami praised, blushing a little bit. Blood rushed to my cheeks as I realized they were actually admiring my magical girl form! Then it dawned on me that I hadn't transformed yet. I wasn't confident in my transformation abilities quite yet, so I set Charlotte down onto the hospital's sidewalk. She bounced a little bit before sitting still. It looked as if she couldn't fly anymore, but hover a little bit by bouncing. Going through the motions was easier this time, and I managed to transform back on my first try.

It was getting rather late, so the group needed to split up for the night. Madoka and Sayaka walked home together while Mami went off on her own. Homura stood there, waiting for me to leave. I wasn't sure where I was going to sleep for the night, having already worn out my welcome at Madoka's, repeatedly pissing off Sayaka, and Mami was already gone in a few leaps. I figured Homura had a home, so she must have a couch or something. Charlotte was unconcerned about our sleeping arrangements as she bounced in circles around me, blissful in her ignorance. I opened my mouth to speak to Homura about sleeping over, but she silenced me by reaching forward and grabbing my hand.

Homura let go, ceased our eye contact, and disappeared with a powerful jump. I swept Charlotte back into my arms and walked away from the hospital like a normal person, unlike those two show-offs. I made a mental note to practice agility in the morning. After wandering the city for a few hours I managed to find an abandoned warehouse. It was rather empty with nothing to make bedding out of. Feeling a little creative I transformed and weaved a hammock out of silk using the corner of the warehouse. The sun had already set so I grabbed Charlotte and tucked myself onto the hammock, using my cannon to seal us in a rather nice cocoon. It was rather toasty and comfortable. Charlotte was restless at first, but I managed to coo her to sleep.

"Why does the purple girl hate me?" Charlotte's soft voice whispered in our cocoon. I opened an eye in concern. Charlotte sounded sad. I wrapped my arms around the plush.

"She doesn't hate you. She was afraid of losing her friends when you tried to eat them," I admitted, hoping not to hurt her feelings.

"I didn't mean to hurt anybody, I just wanted cheese," the naïve doll stated rather bluntly. I chuckled and promised her we would get cheese in the morning. Charlotte gave an adorable squeak as she settled down once more for the night.

* * *

Two hooded figures met within the shadows in the dead of night. They had agreed to meet in the desolate alley, free from prying eyes. As per their ritual, they clasped hands as one figure leaned toward the other, biting their neck. A moment passed, until the figure retracted their gesture. The figures faced each other for a moment, listening to the wind blow through the concrete laced alley. Neither could see the other well with their black coats melting into the shadows. The silence was broken by the one who had bit the other.

"We are alone. You may speak now," the aforementioned ordered.

"Last time I saw her, the blue one was visiting the ill boy. She looks ready to contract any day now. The pink one is still unsure, as she had not discussed her wish properly with the gunner," The other reported. The superior went deep into thought.

"The red one is sure to arrive soon; it's only a matter of days now. Are you ready? Our time to intervene might be on hand, observation can only help so much," was the result of pondering. The subordinate looked around briefly, ensuring solidarity, and faced the superior figure.

"The orange ability's, what are they?" the hooded inferior asked.

"It appears to be a form of transformation magic. A magic that should be used with caution, as it devours energy when not used cautiously. There is no need to worry, as it has no real applicable use in battle."

"Try telling that to the witch," the inferior chuckled. The superior was not amused.

"Now is not the time to crack jokes. We have a job to do. If the blue one fails, it's up to us to clean up the mess."

"And the violet?"

"You can leave that to me." With their conversation ended, the two shadowy figures disappeared into the night, leaving nothing but a grief seed, empty and forgotten, on the ground.

* * *

"Ah, what a good night's sleep!" I yawned, stretching my arms. Charlotte immediately bounced out of our cocoon as it opened with a wave of my hand.

"Someone needs a shower!" The cute little witch teased. A brief sniff of my armpit was more than enough to confirm that. My uniform was putrid and needed to be washed. A quick walk to the hidden entrance (aka a hole in the wall I smashed open) revealed that the sun hadn't risen yet. My good mood was more than enough to keep me awake. With Charlotte in my arms and orange hair flowing in the wind behind my head, I practiced leaping like Homura and Mami using the rooftops.

It took half an hour to reach Madoka's expensive looking house. Fortunately nobody was awake yet so I snuck through Madoka's window. I rummaged through her clothing to find another uniform that hadn't been worn yet as she continued to dream. Not wanting to wake her, I tiptoed to the nearest bathroom with Charlotte and clothing in my arms. A quick shower took place, along with some shampooing. After drying up with a towel I tried on Madoka's uniform. I looked at the mirror and noticed how small her uniform was on me. I touched the fabric with my orange soul gem and used magic to enlarge the uniform to a more comfortable fit. A drop of darkness appeared in the egg shaped gem, but it was minimal and hardly noticeable.

Madoka walked into the bathroom, rubbing her eyes, as I returned my gem into an inscribed ring. She paused, taking notice of my presence, and merely pushed me aside as she brushed her teeth. I whistled, amazed that she's gotten used to my antics already. Charlotte bounced up and landed on her, hugging the crown of her head. I snickered in amusement.

"You know, you should let down your hair more often. It looks cute," I commented, trying to cheer up Madoka's morning. She must be a little shell-shocked from watching her friends' near death experience, or at least I figured. From what I know Madoka bounces back fast.

"Really? My mother said that these ribbons would make me popular," Madoka replied, holding up her famous red ribbons. I did admit she was cute, not cute like Charlotte, but I figured I'd justify myself anyway.

"Of course. You can trust me. After all, I AM a guy," I remarked. Madoka immediately spit toothpaste onto her mirror.

"What? You can't have already forgotten. It's been what, a day?"

"I'm so sorry! It's hard to remember. I mean, you're so…" Madoka waved at me with her damp toothbrush. I rubbed my head in embarrassment.

"You mean I'm feminine?" Madoka nodded in agreement, "I suppose you're right. I'm quite comfortable in this body surprisingly enough." My comment surprised Madoka as she widened her eyes.

"I never thought a boy could like being a girl so much! Don't you miss it?" I shook my head.

"Nah, being a boy is overrated anyway. Sure, I'll miss writing my name in the snow, but there are plenty of perks to outweigh that tiny tidbit."

"What?" I stepped aside Madoka and faced the mirror.

"I mean, look at me. I'm smoking hot!" I declared with a hand on my hip. Madoka just gave me a look of amusement and continued her brushing. I took a green ribbon I swiped from Madoka's room and used it to pin up a portion of my hair into a side ponytail. My hair still flowed down uninterrupted, but I thought the tiny ponytail was cute. Madoka got dressed into her uniform, invited me to eat breakfast with her again, and headed out of her house with me in tow. Nobody could see Charlotte just like Kyubey, so she perched on top of my head for the day.

"Madoka!" Sayaka shouted in joy, as she ran to her friend to embrace on our way to school. Sayaka was extremely happy today. She wiped a tear from her eye as she looked down upon Madoka.

"Aki gave me the courage to finally do it!" The only thing I could say to this was a small "eh?"

"Sayaka, what happened?" Madoka began to become excited.

"I contracted and become a magical girl!"

"Crap," I muttered to myself. The two girls were squealing and hugging each other with no worries. They had no idea of the danger Sayaka was in. After a moment they parted and Sayaka grasped my hands.

"Thank you! Without you, I would never have had the courage to contract so soon! Even a new magical girl can become strong, as you've proved! Let's go defeat witches together!" Sayaka cried happily, pulling me into a hug. I stood there awkwardly, feeling rather heated. Sayaka immediately pulled back with an amused look.

"Oh, sorry. You still are a boy after all. Here," Sayaka leaned forward and pecked me rewardingly on the cheek. My mind was blank except for one thought:

"Anyone want cheese?"

"MEEE!" Charlotte cried, as she bounded off my head toward the cheese in my outstretched hand. The cuteness that was Charlotte was enough to snap me out of my awkward thoughts. I shook my head and continued the walk to school, thinking of all the training Mami had in store for me today. And girls.

Guys never change. I sure as hell won't.


	4. Chapter 4: Analogous Masquerade

**Author's Note:** _This chapter marks where the story starts straying away from canon events, in case you haven't noticed. Again, you already know this, but Puella Magi Madoka Magica doesn't belong to me. Though that'd be pretty awesome if I did, because well, Mami._

Chapter 4: Analogous Masquerade

"Jeez, can't you let me go already? You win!" I cried, struggling against Mami's ribbons. We were practicing inside my new abode, the abandoned warehouse. It was a nice, remote place for a battle between magical girls. We've spent the entire afternoon dueling after school to hone my skills; unfortunately my training was not going well. Mami was a formidable opponent with plenty of experience and a healthy mix of close and far ranged attacks; I had a silk cannon. As neat as I had originally found my cannon, I was too inept with it to be effective against a witch, let alone Mami.

It was the day after Sayaka had made a contract with Kyubey and the day of when she felt the need to tell us.

"Your form needs some work, but you are very strong," Mami consoled me as her ribbons slackened and released me, "would you like to go over my notes about magic?" Having lost for the third time that afternoon, we decided to go back to her place for some tea. Tea was usually bitter to me, but Mami had sweetened it to a comfortable level to suit my taste. She was very patient, explaining her more complex theories and observations over magic in detail, and how it relates to personality. I was surprised to discover that Mami's real magic was her ribbons, rather than her muskets. Apparently using a weapon is more magically efficient than one's natural ability, as long as it ties to one's personality suitably; demonstrated when Mami lent me her musket, and it exploded in an orange dusty cloud.

"How did you enjoy school today?" Mami asked, sipping her tea and ending her lecture. I continued to chew some pastry she gave me until I could swallow properly.

"Eh, it's really boring. The classes are dull, the teacher never shuts up about men, and I still don't understand why everyone (except that one girl) has a laptop when we have books!" Mami stopped sipping her tea and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You really don't like school, don't you? You're just like Sayaka," she commented in a bemused tone with a hint of a smile. That aside, her comment reminded me of a question I had.

"Why does everyone keep calling you 'senior'? I mean, you are our senior, but I don't understand the title." It took her a minute to think about, remembering that I wasn't Japanese and wouldn't likely understand their culture very well.

"It's an honorific, but sometimes can be used by itself. You only hear your classmates call me 'senior', right?" I nodded, finally understanding. Whatever magic was translating the Japanese language for me wasn't translating honorifics very well, due to the different grammar structure English has. I could hear pronouns like "sir" and "miss" but everything else was lost to me. I've gotten used to it, but it was a little unsettling to see people's lips move for a few seconds, silently, after saying someone's name.

After taking a quick nap in her apartment, I headed off as Mami went off to patrol the city in hunt of witches with Sayaka. After training Sayaka was planning on spending time around some boy she was infatuated with. Homura was a little miffed that I had wasted a perfectly good grief seed ("she's just a witch") and was out looking for a replacement, making my choices rather limited on how to pass the day. Spending the day with Madoka crossed my mind, but shot down by the possibility of running into Homura and her foul mood. One wonders what goes on inside her head. With all possibilities spent, I decided to explore the city.

Apparently I was in Mitakihara City and boy, was it big. Japan may be completely alien to me, but walking in the big city reminded me of home. Some vendors were selling Japanese foods and snacks; one bargain caught my eye. Fishing in my pocket for some change I borrowed from Mami (boy, that girl was loaded), I bought a packet of each of my two favorite foods from Japan: ramen and pocky. Pocketing the ramen for later, because it was just snack sized, I nibbled on some delicious pocky. It was so delicious I was lost in the bliss that was pocky and almost missed a red flash on a rooftop nearby. I finished the pocky I was eating and ran to the building. Luckily I was near the outskirts of the city where the buildings weren't skyscrapers.

I could have sworn I saw a girl with red hair on the rooftop. A quick flashback reminded me that Mami and Homura (and probably Sayaka by now) had a bad habit of jumping high onto rooftops and streetlamps. Stepping back a few feet, I figured a running start would be enough to compensate for not being in a transformed state. With a quick jog, a leap and bound, I somehow managed to make it on my first try. Mami had mentioned I was pretty strong, which made me smile at my accomplishment. With the first trial over, I returned to the task at hand. A quick scan of the area revealed a red flash leaping from rooftop to rooftop to the north. It was almost too fast for me to follow. Deciding that speed was more important than inconspicuousness, my ring took on its egg form and shined brightly, transforming me into my more powerful form.

As I approached the red flash, hopping from building to building, she stopped and turned to face me, forcing me to stomp on the brakes. We stood on opposite ends of the rooftop, staring at each other, the sun dipping into the horizon, washing us in orange light. The girl before me had fiery, long hair and fierce eyes. She had a rather nice blue hoody and boots, but her shorts were… eh.

"What do you want?" the girl asked, taking a bit out of an apple she held in her hand. Her casual snacking at this supposedly symbolic moment began to irk me. Here I was, in a magical girl outfit, having chased her for nearly a mile and bathed in orange light (that probably made me look hot) and she just eats an apple and acts like I'm some random passerby. For a magical girl, she wasn't very pleasant. I puffed my cheeks in frustration. I reached into my pocket, pulled out a piece of pocky to put in my mouth, and conjured my shield cannon. The redhead just eyed me with amused eyes. Deciding to take the initiative before she could transform, I pounced forward and aimed my shield cannon…

* * *

Sayaka and Mami were having the most taxing day ever. They were walking home after a difficult battle with a witch. Sayaka slayed familiars easily as any other magical girl, but the witch itself was difficult. Today's barrier featured a hotel theme: a neatly carpeted red floor and beige halls big enough to be labeled chambers. Scattered on the floor were bits and pieces of fallen elevators scattered about, created by the witch. Smeared on the walls were streaks of black ooze with a sickly sweet smell and red paper hearts plastered on it, as if a toddler had decorated her room. Sayaka was a brave, noble soul, but even she felt unease walking through the barrier. After a few turns the ooze began dripping on the walls and had more items covering it. Tiny objects and clothing became more prevalent on the walls, and even the floors. Once the floor became completely cluttered Sayaka discovered, on closer inspection, that the tiny items were everything a teen girl would carry in her purse; from make-up to jewelry. Mami attempted to cheer up Sayaka on her first witch hunt, but not even her sisterly persona could shake the creepy feeling both girls shared for the witch.

Eventually their journey came to a halt; in front of them was a massive elevator approximately 2 stories high. There were no buttons beside it, no floor indicator, nothing to call upon the glory of the elevator. The only distinguishable mark the door had was a large pink heart insignia placed in the middle, sealing the door. Mami and Sayaka exchanged a few glances, shrugged, and Mami proceeded to fire her _Tiro Finale_ at the heart. With a satisfying _pop, _the heart disappeared and the doors slowly opened. With the witch's lair revealed, the magical girl duo rushed in, ready to take on their new opponent.

The battle started like any other. The witch was a bizarre amalgamation of flesh and magic, just like any other witch. Its colors were the same as its barrier: a rough mix of brown, beige and red. If Sayaka had to compare the unearthly entity to anything at all, she's most likely mention stuffing a poodle into a purse. The eldritch creature appeared to wear a half-mask resembling a valentine heart, but the pointed bottom cut off to reveal razor jaws dripping black ooze. Mami confronted the witch, as planned, while Sayaka fought off the familiars and kept them off Mami's back. The swarm of familiars vaguely resembled shadow-like human brutes with incredibly large arms, attempting to punch Sayaka multiple times. Sayaka reacted by hopping back, weaving, and slicing their arms off with her magnificent sword. Fortunately there wasn't a huge swarm of witches as in the case of Charlotte, but the powerful familiars kept Sayaka on her toes.

Mami was experienced enough to handle the witch quite well. Her masterful use of muskets magic held off the witch's barrage of missiles and whips. Because of her veteran status, Mami managed to finish off the witch by firing a shot onto the witch's jaw, dislodging it, and then finishing it off with a _Tiro Finale_ right into the witch's gullet. The barrier dissolved around them as the witch burst into a grief seed, a well-earned treat for the duo. Caring as always, Mami allowed Sayaka to clean her gem before using up the rest of the grief seed, finally clearing the black fluid from her soul gem. Pocketing the grief seed to return to Kyubey later, Mami led the way to the nearest store for dinner, as it was getting late and Sayaka had missed her meal at home. Sayaka was more than pleased to leave behind the dark alley they had to enter to delve into the barrier, most likely the result of a certain lazy magical girl dropping her used grief seed upon entering the city, as Mami had mused.

* * *

After school, Homura was having the time of her life. Armed with binoculars, she surveyed the area as Madoka wandered within her house. She would never admit it, but inside her stoic persona was a girl who really, really, really (no I mean _really_) loved shooting Kyubey into a corpse resembling Swiss cheese. Whenever Kyubey tried approaching the huge house, Homura would freeze time, jump up behind him, and use the first gun she had on hand to decorate him with. Kyubey did not seem to understand the problem as he continuously regenerated and approached Madoka's home. While he wasn't able to understand human emotions, Homura pondered that perhaps humanity's persistence had rubbed off on him.

After a few hours of repeatedly killing the contractor, Kyubey appeared to give up and left the area, in search of other girls to contract. Homura sighed, lowering her binoculars in quiet disappointment. She rewarded herself for a job well done with a well-deserved hair flip. Ever since she ditched the pigtails she couldn't help but play with it, despite her cool-headedness. When the coast was clear, Homura leaped down from the roof she had stood upon and left the area, deeming Madoka safe for another day. At first she walked toward her residence, an operational base as one may say, but changed her mind and instead headed more toward the outskirts of a city.

Time travel was a fickle ability. Homura noticed changes every time she had looped back, each an anomaly rather than a change she had brought on; minor changes like the instrument that Sayaka's boy played to major changes such as the important date: the-

"This is the last time," Homura murmured to herself. She shook the name of the despicable witch from her mind; it was not time to think about such things. Right now she had to focus and scout out the nearby witch lairs. There were witches that Homura had fought countless times, like Charlotte. However, like the witch due in approximately three weeks' time, each witch had its own twisted sense of purpose and direction, making no future knowledge reliable enough to efficiently track every witch in the area. For grief seed hunting purposes, Homura preferred witches she had fought before to minimize magic used, thus allowing her to keep the seed for later. If there was an unknown witch placed in a position to pressure Madoka to contract, Homura was more than ready to step in.

The most startling witch Homura had faced was the witch of stars. This was the first timeline Homura had encountered it, and hopefully the last as well. It was the first witch Homura found to be made of light, a strange concept Homura found fascinating yet startling. The witch's barrier was nothing but a void of darkness rivaled by the witch's luminance. The familiars were nothing but spherical lights, flickering and weaving in and out of the darkness of the barrier's void. Homura had thought nothing of it at the time, figuring something would be able to destroy the witch. However, as she flew toward the witch (apparently gravity was nonexistent here), she noticed that the familiars flying toward the witch were different. Wanting to study the mysterious witch before it noticed her; she had flown toward one of the on route familiars and froze time.

Homura's magic was strange, as theory would suggest that completely stopping time would stop light as well and render a time stopper blind. It was either through magic or a hidden mechanism in her shield that allowed Homura to see the bright familiar regardless. Of course Homura did not have time to learn nor think about such things. Homura was three days into her latest time loop when she received her first shock.

The familiar was a boy.

Homura floated closer, inspecting the boy. She only had a minute, but countless experience made her an expert in analysis. The boy was around her age and normal in appearance. The light that made up the familiar appeared to be a violet miasma with a murky formed collar around the boy's neck, essentially enveloping the boy. Homura widened her eyes. She had already prevented Madoka and Kyubey's first meeting, and was only gathering an extra seed. No matter what day she was in, Homura's moral code was not the same as Kyoko's. Even if it was a familiar, Homura still valued human life, only placing Madoka above all else. Her minute ran out.

Time began again. The boy's eyes remained close as he continued to fly toward his doom. Off in the distance Homura could see with her improved vision bodies floating around the witch, half devoured. The bright witch was slowly disintegrating the humans with her bright yellow miasma. One poor familiar flew close and disintegrated in a scarlet burst as the purple and yellow miasma met. Homura scanned the area as she trailed the boy, noticing that there was no other familiar anymore, making the boy last. Deciding that one life was worth expending a little magic, Homura sped up and tackled the boy. While the body remained dead-weight, the miasma had a life of its own and reared up. The magical girl and the familiar circled and tackled each other a few times, Homura blocking with her shield and the familiar forming a bubble around its precious load. Eventually the miasma weakened and dissolved after enough blows. Immediately the boy fell down, apparently not affected by the anti-gravity. Homura flew down toward him as fast as she could, trying to reach maximum velocity. The void she was flying through appeared to be a tunnel, and as she grabbed the boy she swore she saw a new city underneath her. Homura flew up, set the boy down on a shard of darkness floating by, and confronted the witch. The witch was easily defeated with one of Homura's homemade bombs, ironically enough. After the battle, despite knowing she couldn't manage another burden, Homura took the unconscious boy home to take care of him.

Homura didn't have much of plan that night. She planned to take him to Mami's residence the next morning, knowing that her kind and lonely nature would urge her to nurse the boy, but Homura wasn't sure what to do that night. Homura had relied on her magic for all her medical needs, so maintaining another human's health was an alien concept to her. Whenever the boy moaned in the corner, whining about his sister, she tried wetting a towel and putting it on his forehead. Over the span of one night Homura was nearly driven crazy by her sick ward. After the fifth time being woken up by the boy's nightmarish screams, Homura stood by his sleeping body. She towered over him for a moment, calculating the distance to Mami's home. Then an idea struck Homura's mind. She kneeled down by the boy, and leaned forward…

Homura shook her head, pushing the memory into the deep recessed of her mind. The witch was dead, and what she did with the boy… Homura blushed lightly at the thought. She hoped her decision wouldn't come back to haunt her. Her pondering was caught short when she saw a familiar white cat running across the street toward a diner. Figuring she had nothing better to do than fill an empty stomach, Homura follow suit.

* * *

Madoka was having the worst day ever. Having spent the night tossing and turning over her thoughts about a wish possibly worth risking her life for, her morning was ruined by a bad hair day. One of her pigtails was completely ruined; all the pressure on that side of her head caused it to frizzle everywhere, creating a nest on one side of her head. No amount of showering would cure her ridiculous cursed hair, so eventually Madoka's mother forced her to go to school. Madoka, good girl as always, chose not to argue and went to school. Madoka was a sweet girl who was proud to have never been late to school in the morning.

Madoka's faithful friends were waiting for her, as always. Hitomi had ran ahead for something she hadn't bothered to tell her friends about, leaving Madoka with Sayaka and Mami. Seeing Madoka's rat nest, Mami discreetly conjured and lent Madoka her magical hat, without the soul gem of course. A few people stared at the hat, but otherwise people left Madoka alone without any questions. School was boring as always. Madoka wasn't particularly skilled at mathematics, but art was fun for her today. The mood was ruined by a mediocre score in a science test that day given to her. Madoka sighed, not in the mood to complain. Sayaka had slept through several of the classes and nearly failed the test as well, amusingly enough.

What ultimately made the day gloomy was her loneliness. Madoka spent the entire day inside her house, studying. Her mother was out working, her father was boring to talk to unless it was to learn a valuable life lesson, and her brother was out with a playmate for the day. Mami was probably finishing up practice with Aki and was Sayaka was getting ready to go on her first witch hunt with Mami. Madoka hadn't quite talked to Homura much yet, but not even she was around to talk to. Not even Kyubey, who was interested in contracting Madoka, had bothered to visit her abode. Madoka sighed again, it wasn't in her nature to complain about such minor things but all teenagers eventually succumb to boredom. She got up, grabbed a few yen, and headed outside toward the city. She had saved up enough to visit the music store and perhaps eat dinner at a really cheap diner.

* * *

Kyubey was having the strangest day ever. His morning stalking the pink Madoka girl was interrupted by his body suddenly bursting. Using some energy from the area, he regenerated as quickly as he could. Unfortunately he had lost the potential magical girl. Kyubey, not having human-like desires, truly wanted to contract the cautious girl. Her potential was enough to fill his entire quota two times over, which would fill Kyubey with the closest alien equivalent of glee. Kyubey journeyed to the school on foot, only to be defeated by his nemesis: the door. Kyubey was invisible to all normal humans, the only exceptions being ones he used magic to reveal himself and those with potential to be magical girls, the former boy Kyubey encountered being an anomaly to be surveyed. This fail-safe came with one flaw: no one could open the door. He dare not reveal himself to the world, knowing that any normal human being would see him as an abomination. But Kyubey did not have the power to open the door himself, nor was he in range to contact anyone who could.

Giving up on the door, Kyubey waited until school was over to continue his pressuring on Madoka. However, for the entire afternoon, he continued to mysterious blow up within twenty feet of the girl. Dying was no big deal for Kyubey, but repeatedly dying in one area slowed his regeneration, as the energy in the surrounding area needed to be replenished beforehand. He eventually got to her house, but was destroyed every time he tried to enter. After a few hours of persistence, Kyubey finally gave up rationalizing that Madoka was under a witch's spell and that Mami would save her. Kyubey had no physical need to eat, but still required energy, so he headed off to the nearest diner to swipe food to replenish himself. After all, it was his job to conserve energy, and stealing energy from nature was detrimental to his task.

* * *

…and promptly got my ass kicked. The redheaded girl had no need to transform, instead just giving me a swift kick to the head and launching me backwards. I flew backward a few feet on the rooftop and landed on my head. The girl walked toward me as I rubbed my head in pain. Redhead finished her treat and offered her hand. I grabbed it and helped myself up. The girl stood beside me and slapped me on the back.

"I admit kid, you got spunk. It's usually me beating up on the rookies. This is the first time a newbie took the initiative," the redhead boasted, "Here, have an apple, my treat." I hesitantly took the red fruit and decided to play it safe. Her personality wasn't completely violent, so I figured I could sway her with a few well-chosen words.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Name's Kyoko," the girl replied, snatching my apple away and munching on it carelessly. Kyoko didn't have a very attractive personality, but she did have her charming points. It took her a few moments to notice my male gaze.

"Ouch, what the hell was that for?"

"Stop staring at me you pervert!"

"I can't help it when you're wearin-"Apparently that was the last straw as Kyoko threw her apple away and tackled me. I hadn't provoked her enough to warrant a lethal fight, but wrestling was incredible difficult. Mami had judged my physical strength higher than hers, but Kyoko giving me a run for my money. Eventually we just fell over and began rolling over each other, dangerously close to the roof's edge. Kyoko got the upper hand, sat on top of me and pinned my arms to my side. It was humiliating to be at her mercy, so I decided to throw in my last trick.

"SHE'S GOT CHEESE!" I screamed as loud as I could. Out of nowhere came a maniacal laugh approaching at high speeds. Kyoko turned her head as Charlotte tackled her face at lightning speed. Charlotte, being a witch, was still physically superior to a human; just enough to topple Kyoko, who pulled me with her, over the edge. We fell down a whole story in front of a diner, with Kyoko landing on top again. I groaned in pain, having broken her fall and still managing to be humiliated. Kyoko was in pain as well, and struggled to escape the frills of my dress, which now had dirt and tears all over it. Someone coughed to our side.

"Oh, hey guys…" I whimpered, crawling out from under Kyoko. My body was in pain and I wasn't in the mood to whine about the situation. Kyoko on the other hand…

"You know this chick! She chased me, attacked me, and acted like complete pervert! Punish her Tomoe!" Kyoko screamed at Mami. Apparently everyone had gathered here for dinner or something. Sayaka and Madoka were sitting next to each other at a nice round table with an umbrella, while Homura was just walking out the front. Kyubey was eating a meatball at a nearby table, obviously watching Madoka. Mami had walked up to us when we landed during our squabble, obviously concerned. Confident I could diffuse the situation; I painfully stood up and dusted myself off.

"Relax Kyoko. I'm just jealous of your boots, that's all."

"Bull." To prove it, I showed off my lackluster brown boots that came with the uniform.

"See? The dress is all fine and all, but these boots just don't go with it. Brown doesn't work with it, don't you think?" Kyoko merely scoffed at my comment, but decided to leave it. She checked out my outfit, noting the lolita pattern, and bought it. Despite the fact I was still male inside, I was actually fawning over her boots. Any good magical girl, no matter their gender, strived for good fashion. I figured if I was going to risk my life fighting monsters that created the curses of the world, I might as well look good while doing it.

The rest of the group's meeting wasn't so eventful. After our scuffle was over, Kyoko and I were invited to eat dinner with the rest. I was surprised to see Kyubey eating with us, but Homura allowed it just this once. Kyoko kept stealing my food, but it was the threat of Sayaka cleaving my head off with her sword that kept me from saying anything. Kyoko was rather rude, especially to Mami, but got along with everyone as well as someone like Kyoko would. The only person I really spoke to was Mami, and all it was about was magic. Charlotte nibbled on some cheese, the cute thing.

After dinner was over, I scooped up Charlotte and headed toward our abode. Everyone else seemed to have an exhausting day as well and headed home with their farewells. It was quite a walk from the diner to our home, especially since I was too exhausted to do any roof hopping. Everywhere around me a car was honking its horn or revving its engine. Something in me wondered of this strange city ever slept. A gang of boys stopped their expensive looking car (it was red, but I didn't recognize the make) and said a few lewd things to me. Charlotte offered to eat them but I compromised by saying something rude back. It wasn't enough to completely daunt them, but they were reasonable enough to leave me alone. On the final stretch home, something in an alley caught my eye.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked the brown haired girl, hugging her knees and sitting on a flat cardboard box. The girl was sniffing and appeared to be recovering from a recent cry. She was wearing my school uniform. I took me a moment but then I realized who she was.

"Oh, you're the poor girl, right?" The girl looked up at me with her brown eyes, a familiar sad feeling behind them. It was so familiar it struck a chord within me. I hadn't realized…

"I'm sorry… what's your name?" I asked politely, trying to atone for my insensitivity. The girl sniffed once more and wiped her nose on her dirty sleeve.

"I'm Bikou Botan," Botan stood up and fixed her tattered hair. "My family is poor, but I appreciate if you use my name please." She made eye contact with me, having to look up an inch or so. She looked kind of cute now that I thought about it.

"What are you doing here? It's nighttime, some guys were just hitting on me, and so I doubt you want something happening here." Botan looked at the ground.

"I caught my father drinking tonight, so I ran out before he noticed I've seen him drunk." I whistled at the weight of her statement. Feeling generous I sensed the need to extend the hand of friendship. I reached out and grabbed her hand and pulled her behind me as I walked the way home.

"Where are we going?" Botan asked nervously. I grinned at her.

"Home. You're staying the night. Don't worry, I know a place."

_Whew, that concludes that chapter. Consider that the breather episode. Healthy amount of foreshadowing, show how things are changing, and focus on the all the important characters. Sorry that this came rather late, but you know how College is. Perhaps I'll throw in an extra half-chapter: "Charlotte's Adventure!"_


	5. Charlotte's Adventure!

Chapter 4.5: Charlotte's Adventure!

Mornings were rough for poor, little Charlotte. Every night she had spent with big sister was a warm bliss within the magical cocoon, or would have been if it weren't for her restlessness. Charlotte, as a witch, had no real need to sleep but enjoyed spending as much time with big sister that she could. Charlotte barely understood humans, more or less big sister's antics. Every night Akiharumi would toss in her sleep, squeezing Charlotte, moaning in pain. It hurt not being able to comfort her. Every morning that week was spent with the orange magical girl poking and prodding at Charlotte, glowing with mute orange power. Charlotte didn't quite understand the point, but she lived to please her adoptive sister.

Charlotte waddled out of the abandoned warehouse after her big sister had left for school. The other girls had fawned over her lollipop doll appearance after her debut, but she had no desire to seek them out, instead desiring to eat cheese. On typical days Charlotte would leave with her big sister, riding on her head, but big sister had given the day off to Charlotte. The dessert witch had no sense of purpose and instead wandered the city in search of delicious cheese. The city was large enough to confuse Charlotte in her ceaseless quest for cheese.

It was not long before Charlotte arrived at a grass park. The tiny witch squeaked excitedly, hoping that old humans were feeding birds with cheese. Unfortunately there was only one lady on a bench feeding pigeons with bread; one quick nibble led to an angry spit take for the witch. Charlotte barely remembered her short time in her own barrier, but she'd rather eat all the desserts in the world than bread any day. Big sister tried explaining the witch concept to her, but Charlotte could not understand what it meant to be a witch. Charlotte did not feel any ill will toward anyone, nor did she feel any grief inside her. The closest thing to harm Charlotte ever wished toward anyone was her urge to chomp on the blonde girl with hair resembling cheese shavings. Charlotte didn't hate her; she just wanted to eat her (and looked awfully adorable trying to munch on the golden locks).

A pigeon took notice of Charlotte and pecked at her. Charlotte was invisible to nearly everything, to her annoyance, except for the occasional animal. The witch bopped the head of the pigeon with her stubby arms to no avail. The pigeon cooed, gathering assistance from its fellow avian prospectors interested in the sweet smell emanating from the dessert witch. The old woman originally feeding the pigeons grew bewildered as she watched the pigeons surround a seemingly invisible object. The pigeons pecked and scratched Charlotte in a desperate hungry fashion, expecting a reward for their efforts. Charlotte was not amused.

"Kappukēki bakuhatsu!" Charlotte screamed, rolling into a ball and then leaping into the air, limbs outstretched, and magically conjuring a barrage of cupcakes to beat back the pigeons. The pigeons were barely fazed at all, instead pecking at the broken cupcakes. Charlotte puffed up her cheeks and hastily floated at the pigeons to scare them off. Charlotte admired big sister's fighting skills and wanted to be a fighter like her too. She knew that other witches were big and scary like the stories the other girls told her, so she wanted to start small. Today a pigeon was going to die.

"Itai!" Charlotte whimpered when she was blown back by the pigeon's counterattack, a merely stretching of wings. Charlotte wasn't as strong as big sister quite yet. Nevertheless the duel was not over quite yet. The pigeon faced Charlotte with its pink sprinkled beak and prepared to fight back. The avian charged at the delicious witch with a pecking tackle. Remember the techniques used in her first battle against the magical girls, Charlotte dodged and hopped to the side. Flanking the pigeon, Charlotte shot another cupcake at its wing. This time her aim was successful and the pigeon staggered. Knowing victory was at a hand, Charlotte pounced on the pigeon with her finisher. Stretching her mouth as far as it possibly could, the cute little witch swallowed the entire pigeon.

"Ah…" Charlotte sighed satisfied. The pink wrapper-like pigtails wiggled a little in joy as the witch rubbed her belly. However for her, her satisfaction was about to end. The other pigeons who had witnessed the epic showdown were not pleased. They surrounded her once again and pecked aggressively, intending to harm the witch. Charlotte squealed in pain and floated out of the flock and tried to flee. The pigeons flapped their wings to lift off and flew after her in pursuit.

Charlotte was not a fast witch, but circumstances forced her to push herself more than ever. It was not one of her wishes to be reduced to a grief seed, especially considering what that may appear to a random bird. Charlotte flew above several buildings, higher than she's ever flown before. Normally she was used to bouncing; true flight drained the little magic she contained. Knowing that her time was going to run out and lead to certain doom, Charlotte managed to spy something that would help her impede her foes. Flying down low near a construction zone, the witch flew right through the smoke cloud emanating from a nearby truck. The cloud was thick, thick enough to hide the witch effectively as she hovered above the passing flock of pigeons. By the time they noticed their prey was missing, it was too late.

Charlotte flew above another building, attempting to create distance from her pursuers. After a few minutes she floated down on a rooftop and relaxed for the day. After a few hours of dozing she was awakened by a passing flash of lights. A red and an orange blur flew past her, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. Charlotte hopped back up, excited to see big sister. The stinger was when she heard her favorite call-

"CHEESE!" Charlotte screamed, answering big sister's summons. The red haired girl was assaulting her big sister, and more importantly: harboring cheese. Charlotte had much fighting practice today and tackled the girl's face with amazing aim. Charlotte did so well that both the girls flew off the building!

Charlotte was rewarded for a well done job. Big sister Akiharumi gave her cheese for dinner while eating steaming rice. Afterwards big sister took her home in her secure arms, and even cuddled that night. Charlotte was proud of big sister's kindness, which was powerful enough to compel big sister to befriend a random human and invite her to their abode. Charlotte was excited for her first sleepover! Hopefully the brown-haired girl would like Charlotte as much as the other girls did, which would make big sister proud! Charlotte nuzzled big sister the rest of the way home, anxious after an exciting day.


	6. Chapter 5: Eye Spy

**Author's**** Note**:_ I do not own Madoka Magica. _

Chapter 5: Eye Spy

A couple days passed with less drama than I had expected; Kyoko was doing her own thing, but wasn't seeking anyone out to beat up. Botan had established her father as a raging alcoholic, but he seemed rather reasonable once I had Mami show him the glory of her muskets. Perhaps our motivation helped coax his paternal instincts out; not only did he agree to allow Botan to leave the family home, but "helped out" by shelling out his wallet. It seemed like a lot of money to me at first, but Mami explained the currency exchange rates to the best of her ability. I didn't quite get the concept of yen, but then again I fail at economics.

Botan was nervous at first; having just met us, but Mami had her stay over at her home despite my protests. Mami wasn't going to tell her about my bargain deal with Kyubey, but she apparently knew better than to let me stay overnight with another female anymore. I did make Botan a second cocoon ("Oh, a fancy hammock!") after all. It wasn't my fault that Charlotte bounced into the wrong one during a potty break and nearly caused a magical mishap that was barely avoided by Botan's heavy sleep. That girl can snore. Even if I deserved being reprimanded for nearly breaking our masquerade (I transformed in my excitement, no big deal), everyone knew that it was an excuse to ban me from sleepovers. Madoka shouldn't have slept by a can of whipped cream lying around, dipping Kyoko's pocky in hot sauce was priceless, and Homura just looked adorable when I drew glasses on her sleeping face.

Okay maybe I am an asshole.

At least I still had Charlotte to keep me company at night when it was dark and scary; storms were starting to pick up in Mitakihara City. These thoughts bounced around in my head as I walked home from school with the girls. Madoka was chit chatting with Sayaka as always, and trying to get Homura to warm up that cold shoulder. Mami was lecturing me (again) on magic and explaining why Kyoko doesn't attend school. She left out several details that I figured were personal to Kyoko. It was obvious the two had history, but I couldn't place my finger on it (Probably Mami playing big sister… again). I wasn't going to either, last time I tried I got drop kicked by the blue-head. Our conversation fizzled out when Botan caught up to us, dragging Hitomi by the hand.

"Sayaka!" Botan cried out, leading her green haired princess to our blue haired warrior. The three girls gushed about that guy Sayaka had wasted her wish on and how he was going to return to school in a couple days. I was happy for Sayaka and all, but a gut feeling told me this was not going to end well. All of this talk about magic was starting to irk me, so I eavesdropped on the other conversation. Sayaka's pseudo boyfriend was a rather talented violin(?) player who had terribly injured his hand, and some miracle had healed him. He could return to school, but was bound to arrive in crutches regardless. Judging by their squeals I could tell this guy was a chick magnet, especially since Hitomi looked hard to please.

"So according to the theory on personality and magic, what's your core strength?" Mami's question jerked my attention back to her.

"Uh… I'm really strong!" Mami gave an exasperated sigh. Sure, magic was interesting and everything but we did just come from school. I swear the teacher hated me.

"Your magic seems to augment your physical strength more than usual, which may pertain to your, um, 'masculine' tendencies."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I replied, sticking a lollipop into my mouth. It was cherry, probably the most delectable of all flavors. Mami stepped in front of me and barricaded the way.

"You're walking funny; your feet are too far apart. Try doing it like this," she instructed by giving a few rather girly strides. Thanks to the change of pace this was actually interesting. I tried mimicking her but tripped on my feet. Mami helped me up and demonstrated again, placing her hands on her hips to emphasize it. This came as rather stereotypical, but I tried again. It took a few more times, but eventually we were walking home doing our girl walk. A few guys in passing whistled at us as we passed by. Mami didn't lose face but look noticeably bothered.

"Hey, aren't you used to it?" I asked her. Her fair eyes focused on me in curiosity. "I mean, I understand that the others are a little younger so boys aren't going to be interested quite yet, but you must have some experience." My introspection managed to get her to crack her signature sympathetic smile.

"My duties keep me too busy to have a boyfriend. Besides, no one interesting has ever confessed to me," she sighed, returning her gaze to our path. Her choice of words interested me.

"Wait, you're not… oh whatever. It's fine to not be interested in boys. I mean, it's a shame, but…"

"Why do you care so much? You're a girl too, boys are bound to like you soon enough," Mami teased with a giggle.

"_I don't like boys…"_

"What?"

"Oh, nothing!" I anxiously answered with a luminescent blush. Thankfully she didn't hear that. Only a true naïve fool would believe I would switch teams that fast, even if I did change gender with a little magic; which the girls probably suspected in the first place.

"Oh, we're here. Would you like to step in for some tea?" Mami offered, knowing I didn't have much to do. I nodded, intending to ask for help with homework, having only learned a little Japanese writing in the time spent here. Math wasn't too difficult, and history was incredibly hard, but Mami's helped eased the difficulty bit by bit. Fortunately it didn't take long to finish and by the time we did, a welcome knock came from her door.

"Botan!" I cried, running out to hug my friend as she walked in. She staggered, laughed, and squeezed back. Once you got past her daddy issues and poverty, she was quite the happy person. Mami served her up some warm afternoon tea while I helped out with her math homework to score some brownie points. Mami and I had decided not to clue her into the magical girl business after much debate, determining that the city could not sustain more than five (and potentially six) girls at once; Charlotte and Kyubey were invisible to Botan, meaning she had little magic potential and would become a weak magical girl anyway. Thankfully Kyubey had agreed to babysit Charlotte after bribing him with some pie; perhaps her cheery personality would rub off on him while he keeps her away from Botan.

"Hey, Aki, why do you live alone?" Botan asked, sipping her tea from a cute pink teacup. I set mine (white with a cat I painted) down from my lips.

"I'm an orphan," was my blunt reply. Botan took the hint and dropped her train of thought. Teatime ended when the sun was halfway set. It was proper for Mami to shoo out any straggling guests, but she let me stay late because I didn't have anywhere to be. We had set up a makeshift bed for Botan next to Mami's sleeping place, for her continuous stay there. When we had made it, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

"So what are you doing tomorrow, Aki? It's the weekend," Botan asked me, helping Mami put away the dishes while I was cleared the table and packed up my belongings. I thought for a moment.

"I heard there was a school festival on the other side of town at the all-boys school. It's open to the public, so I figured I'd give it a peek. What are you guys doing?"

"Well, we're going too," Mami answered for the two of them. My outlook immediately brightened.

"That's awesome! You want to hang out?"

"Well Aki, thing is, we both have dates!" Botan clapped her hands in announcement. I shot Mami an accusing glare.

"What happened to not having enough time with your duties?" I teased her in an envious tone. She smiled back with a wink. Now that my cleaning was over, I slung my backpack (courtesy of Mami) on my shoulder and headed out into the dead of night. On the way to the warehouse I picked up Charlotte from Madoka's home and got a good report on her behavior. Fortunately she was more than a handful for Kyubey, making him derelict on his contracting duties for the day. Charlotte didn't put up much of a fight as I carried her home, set her in the cocoon, and snuggled up for the night. I discovered a new trick and managed to knit myself pajamas out of silk without actually knowing how to knit. The silk was green and glowed lightly, unlike the cocoon, which was a pale lime color now.

"Big sister, little sister said that the cheesy girl is having a 'date' tomorrow. What's a date?" Charlotte inquired before I had fallen asleep, referring to Madoka (who had similar hair. I didn't know about the 'little' part). I thought for a minute, not knowing where Charlotte's developmental stage was at; with the options weighed, I opted for the safe route.

"It's when two people who like each other spend a day together." Seemingly satisfied, Charlotte fell silent. Then she piped up again.

"Then how is it special? Little sister was really excited, but aren't we always on a date?" I opened my eyes wide at this one. Woops.

"Um, honey, it's when two people _really_ like each other. Like when you have a cheese wheel that's too good to eat and you just keep it around." A nice analogy, if I may say so myself.

"Oh. Do you like anyone big sister? Big sister? Huh? Well?" Charlotte kept bugging me as I pretended to sleep. Eventually she fell silent for the rest of the night, allowing my mind to rest and drift off to oblivion.

Today was going to be a good day starting with a good morning stretch out of the cocoon. Today was the day I would hunt my first witch solo AND go to the festival. My soul gem was starting to get a little dirty from my little magic outbursts, making it about time I replenish myself. It was too early to go hunting however, so on to the festival! My heavenly abode was closer than Mami's, but it was quite a walk across the city to reach the school. The school was a boarding school, one of those stereotypical ones you'd imagine when you think of Japan. Despite my stereotypical outlook, the festival was quite exciting. Hundreds of people were walking around, checking out each attraction every class had set up. My first stop of course, was breakfast.

As kind as Mami was, I didn't want to completely mooch off her, so I made today's pocket change from the profit off selling silk scarfs and socks. I didn't know how long they'd last, but the luxury and smooth texture was enough to warrant a decent price. The rice ball purchased tasted delicious as I looked for something exciting to do. Of all food this side of the planet, rice was definitely top on my list. That goes for the other side too.

I wandered to a haunted house and paid a small fee to walk in. It was rather crappy with bed sheet ghosts and cheap jump scares. Next stop was the cosplay café. For a minute I thought I was going to see maids and everything (sorry, I'm American, remember?), but forgot that this was an all-boys school. There were samurais, butlers, and I swore I saw an oni get a tip from someone's grandma. I sat down and ordered some coffee so psych me up from the butler, top hat and everything, who was trying the "cool guy" persona to earn some tips. He was nice enough, with deep black eyes and a pale complexion, but I wasn't into the conversation. I admit he'd make a nice butler. A stroke of bad luck passed and I spilled some coffee onto my casual dress. The brown stain did not match well with the creamy colors. I panicked and tried to wipe it off but only got it on the hem. Mr. Butler swooped in and grabbed my wrist to stop my panic. Surprised, I stopped and allowed him to lead me to the back room to wash up.

A ninja, busy filling orders from the waiters, whistled at us as we passed by. I was going to retort but the butler delivered a swift kick to his knees, stifling his amusement. The butler handed me a wet towel to wipe off my clothes with, and politely turned around. I sighed in relief, having met the first courteous guy in weeks. The stain was hard to get out, but a few tries got it to recede and eventually fade. I handed the butler the towel and faced him.

"Um, thank you. I don't know what to say," I told him, nervously twirling my orange hair. An odd sensation welled up in me. I was usually a jerk, but something inside me made me feel _nice_.

"No problem! I don't mind helping out a cute girl," he replied, rubbing the back of his head. His left arm lowered into the air as he noticed something about me. "Oh, stand still," he ordered, reaching toward me with his raised arm. I closed my eyes instinct. His finger poked my cheek; I opened my eyes to see him sucking on his finger. I tilted my head in confusion, slightly flustered and confused.

"You had rice on your face. Don't worry, I got it." He declared, waving his finger.

"Tha-tha-thanks," I stuttered, getting red in the face. He leaned toward me and I backed up onto the wall. For a minute I thought he was going to trap me with his arm or something to my worry.

"Can I have your number? You seem rather cute, and I don't have the chance to meet with a lot of people, so I'd like to get to know you," he said, beaming. I sighed in relief, and then remembered.

"I don't have a cell phone. Can I have yours?" He gladly consented and wrote on some paper his number and address for me. He waved me goodbye, having to get back to work. Once I hurried out of the café I looked at his writing and learned his name: Kazuki. I felt rather mixed about this, and was about to throw it away…

"Hey, what's with the huge grin?" A familiar voice cried out. I jolted and shoved the paper in my silk purse I had brought along. Approaching me was Botan with Mami in tow behind her. With so many people here I thought I wouldn't run into one, let alone both of them. Botan was wearing a jeans and a hoody while Mami wore an elegant yellow summer dress; they were obviously dressed up for their dates, Botan even had her hair in a side-ponytail. I peeked behind them, looking for any classy looking guys.

"Oh, nothing!" I laughed, "Where's the lucky guys?" I made an obvious show of searching for their dates to hide my anxiety; I did not want anyone to get the wrong idea. For some reason no guys were behind them, nor approaching us from any direction. Scratching my head in confusion, my eyes drifted down to their hands, clasped with one another. The gears in my head began turning.

"Wait, are you guys..?" My stuttering drew a small, nervous smile from Mami.

"We just wanted to go to the festival together. I hope you don't mind," her words, laced with honey, tried to calm me. My face began heating up again. I could understand why she didn't invite me, but they didn't have to lie about it. Before I blew up, I released a long, drawn-out sigh to calm myself. I owe her a lot, both as a mentor and a friend; a little space wasn't too much to ask for. I turned around to leave, blowing the two a kiss, and left the festival. Or tried to.

At the front gate of the school, my pocket grew warm. Shocked, I reached into it and pulled out my soul gem. Luckily I was out of sight of any onlookers thanks to a nearby tree. My orange soul gem was blinking warm light, signaling the presence of a witch. I cursed my luck under my breath; I did not need this right now. Judging by the speed of the flashes, I was barely in range to detect it, meaning backup probably wouldn't arrive. It was about time I take on my first solo hunt anyway, plus the action would clear my mind and cleanse my soul.

The barrier took some time to find, but eventually I found the entrance hidden inside a shack at the very edge of the school's boundary. It was small and rundown, the wood completely rotten and falling apart; one wonders why no one has knocked it down, but it was completely perfect for a witch's lair. I walked into it and shut the door behind me, then faced the entrance that shined in my presence. The rune was gibberish but the image seemed to depict a black ball-like mass surrounded by squiggly heat waves. Whoever designed these needed to take a class in menacing, the sheer simplicity was ineffectual.

A hop, a skip, and an extravagant gesture summoned my outfit and weapons for battle. Usually I took a moment to pose and admire my green/orange layered lolita dress, but I was too irritated to care. I wasn't angry at Mami, just merely annoyed for being blown off like that. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Gulping down my nervousness, I hopped through the barrier.

Inside the barrier was strange, like any and every witch barrier. Mami couldn't explain why witch's barriers were so oddly designed, but theorized that their magic was similar and created barriers to suit their powers and motives. This witch's barrier was wide open in darkness, appearing to be a chamber of sorts with marble pillars erected randomly. The witch and her familiars were nowhere in sight, so I walked up to one on the marble floor and inspected it. Tacked onto the pillar was a painting, with an extravagant frame. The painting itself was pitch black with white lines, depicting broken glass or something similar. On another pillar was the same one, but with red color seeping out from the white. Each one was the same as the last, but with one different detail. The last one I came to, in the middle of the chamber, had nothing but black paint on it. It was larger than the rest, obviously important to the witch. Caution aside, I laid my hand on it.

With amazing reflexes, I jumped back ten feet as a black mass erupted from the painting and bit with glowing white fangs, the air my hand had been a moment ago. Every painting around me began convulsing as familiars oozed out them, resembling distorted humanoids. One came close to me before I shot it with my cannon, resembling a shadow of a person with long stringy hair. They had no features, no clothes, just the shadow of a human and large shark like teeth. The witch seemed to be the largest of them all and was still emerging from its painting, merely halfway. I gulped, realizing that this was probably the largest witch I've seen. I quick spun a barbed whip from my cannon and began slicing familiars in half, left and right. They kept coming, more and more emerging from the paintings.

The witch screamed, having left its painting in its hunt for prey. It resembled a giant ball with a huge mouth, nothing but teeth like the rune depicted. It appeared to be made of black paint, or miasma as one would say. The teeth were scary enough but the utter size of the witch daunted me. On any other day I'd turn tail and run, but…

"You know what? I'm having a bad day and you're just pissing me off! Bring it on witch!" I screamed, circularly spinning my whip like a mace and using careful word choice. The witch screamed back, and tendrils protruded from its mass and rushed toward me. I jumped into the air and retaliated with my own attack. Surprisingly enough, the miasma absorbed my whip and began pulling it in! I quickly cut off my whip and spun another, harder version. Keeping the barbs, the new one resembled a spear, which I flung. For a minute I thought it had cut through the witch, tearing a hole, but tendrils jutted out from the wound and repaired the witch. The size of the witch guaranteed accuracy, but damaging it was a harder question.

During my leap, a quick tendril reached me before I could react and wrapped around my waist. The witch, using its awesome strength, slammed me against the pillar hard enough to break it in half. Its grip loosened and I fell in the rubble. I haven't noticed it until now, but the chanting familiars always speak was getting louder…

Before the mantra would ingrain into my brain, the witch attacked. This time I dodged the miasmic tendril. A crater in the marble was left behind, the rubble completely disintegrated. I gulped, realizing how high power this witch was. Completely immune to physical weapons, self-repair, and enormous levels of strength. If it weren't for their lack of fortitude, each familiar could be mistaken as a lower witch. Using some magic, I boosted my muscles and hid behind a pillar with a quick burst of speed. Thanks to my training I could buff myself with my magic, like how Mami augmented a baseball bat.

_Mami! She would know what to do_! Her muskets and ribbons could probably tear and wrap this witch apart in seconds. Unfortunately she was out of range... Hearing the sound of the air being ripped apart, I leaped just in time for my pillar to be blown apart by another swing. This witch needed to be taken down before it could hurt someone. I gritted my teeth and assumed a ready stance; however my head began to split.

"ノー愛は愛していません. ノー愛は愛していません. ノー愛は愛していません,"the chanting grew worse and more audible. The voices sounded Japanese, **true** Japanese, the familiars were piercing my language veil and assaulting my mind.

"Get. Out. Of. My. HEAD!" I screamed, charging up my cannon with an insane amount of magic to create a silk bomb. Leaping high into the air so I could aim, I fired the bomb at the witch, which blew into several sticky tendrils and dissolved several swarming familiars. The witch began steaming a little bit, my silk having a corrosive chemical added to it; Mami taught me how to combine my weapon and specific magic together, often by showing off her _Tiro Finale_. The chanting softened for a moment, and then came back even louder. I tried shutting it out but the psychic static was too much to ignore.

A tendril shot at me again, but was more sluggish than usual. I easily dodged it and leaped off it to land on the ground. Blood began trickling out of my nose from the psychic mantra I was exposed to. More and more familiars emerged from the paintings; black sludge born from the dark canvas. A quick peek at my necklace reminded me I was at half power. This battle was going to end soon, one way or another. I readied another spear.

Out of nowhere a tendril wrapped around my waist, pinning my arms to my sides. The witch had snuck up behind me! Or at least one of its tendrils did. The witch brought me forward to its center mass as I wriggled desperately. The uncanny teeth spread as the witch gave me an incredibly demonic smile, black drool bleeding out of it. I was sure it was going to eat me, but its mouth never opened. Rather, I felt an odd sensation in my body. My veins began freezing as my blood ran cold, my teeth chattered as I felt drained of all heat. The energy left my body until I could barely move my head, let alone my body. I glanced down and saw as my soul gem began to deplete, slowly growing black. The witch began convulsing, dim orange orbs traversing through its tendrils like electricity. Each tendril began shifting shape, becoming more jagged and varied like my weapons. As my magic and stamina drained, resisting the familiars' chant became impossible. My body went limp, and my mind was almost lost to eternal bliss when a single voice pierced the oblivion.

"AKI!" screamed my cherished friends' voice. My eyes snapped back open to see Mami running toward the witch transformed, Sayaka and Kyoko in tow. Kyoko had been rather hostile toward us at first, but something about Madoka and Sayaka had soothed her high spirits over the last few days. Also helped that she got to beat me up at least ten times by now. Each of them was wielding their signature weapons and were fired up, prepared to beat this witch. The witch held me up higher to keep me out of the way and continue its power draining. It drew out three tendrils and shifted them into claws; each one engaging a different magical girl in battle. My consciousness drifted off and on, making it hard to observe the fight.

"Let go!" Someone screamed. I meekly opened my eyes to see the three of them caught as well, being thrown and tossed about. I tried to warn them, but opening my mouth was too much of a labor at this point; after that I fell into a slumber. Darkness that inhabited my retinas rippled and revealed an image as the mantra screamed into my brain. I was above the witch, watching the battle above in an out of body experience. Sayaka had managed to break free with her swords being a convenient cutting tool. Kyoko was still stuck as Mami made progress by shooting the witch with a barrage of muskets. She needed time and space to do her finisher, a move needed to take down a witch this size. A glow of a corrupt orange color with specks of yellow and red miasma gathered around the witch. Mami's magic ribbons were useless to the witch, but Kyoko's magic was probably the fuel for my sudden scrying ability.

Mami finally broke free with her ribbons and began a full-on musket assault. Kyoko finally got her spear positioned perfectly and followed suit, escaping the witch's clutches. I could only watch as the two veterans and rookie parried the witch's blows and retaliated. Sayaka had to focus more on the familiars, but Kyoko and Mami were unparalleled in battle, completely ignoring any harmless (in comparison) familiar. I had never seen Mami fired up before; it kind of made me scared. Her cream eyes were usually calm or dull, hiding internal emotions, but the battle had conjured a fire within. Mami was very noticeably pissed.

"_Tiro Finale!_" rang her battle cry, signaling her signature move as she conjured a sizeable musket and enlarged it. With grace, beauty, and courage Mami fired her final shot at the center of the witch to slay it. Unfortunately the unspeakable happened.

The ethereal vision faded as I slowly woke up in the real world, still grasped by the witch and still weak. My hair was flailing to the side as if a rough wind was blowing through it on a cold winter day. Wind cut my cold skin at high speeds as the tendril holding me was moved. I slowly opened my eyes and time slowed down as the realization dawned upon me. Soaring toward me was the signature magic ribbon bullet.

The witch had shielded herself with my body in cowardice. Maybe it was the nerves or my magic, but I had time to say my final words.

The bullet gashed through my left eye, tearing through my skull in pure agony. I barely noticed as I fell down thirty feet onto the floor, ragdoll and screaming. My vision blurred red as the inhuman mantra increased in volume once more and tormented me as I lay broken on the ground. A feeling of utter helplessness enveloped me as I endured psychic assault and a broken body, unable to move and lacking the energy to try. Every bone felt broken, every muscle torn, no chance of having normal eyesight. The only thought I had was the wish for the pain to finally end.

I laid there for what seemed to be an eternity; the pain was too agonizing to allow unconsciousness. Thought after thought flickered through my brain: my days as a teenage boy in San Francisco; pulling pranks on the local churchmen; a certain brown-haired girl. The other girls, my friends who had welcomed me into their strange world, too found their way in. Mami in particular dominated with her grace and familiarity. A memory of a day spent training flickered by, a remembrance of hard work. However, the flashbacks were soon ended by a warm sensation throughout my body.

"Shh, it's going to be okay," a nurturing voice cooed. I hadn't noticed, but my mouth seemed to be screaming. It closed in response. Soon enough the agony subsided into a throbbing pain, the mantra no longer in my head. Darkness dominated my vision, but I could tell Mami was the one holding my head on her lap. A snippet of conversation bounced between individuals, enough for me to catch that Sayaka was healing me. I gripped the ground with my hand to feel grass and rotten residue, the same as the shack I had passed through.

"Were you able to beat it?" I asked her softly in a defeated tone. Embarrassment was the least of my concern, I was just exhausted. Mami chuckled.

"Yes, just barely. We used the grief seed on you because of the urgency, but it only kept your soul gem from going completely dark. You're going to need another."

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked, and received no answer. Summoning all my willpower, I painfully managed to open my one good eye.

Mami's soul gem was completely black.

_Hopefully that different enough to please. Thus this concludes the "Orenji" story arc out of three total, because frankly I know everyone hates OC's or at least ones turned into main characters. However I never guaranteed there won't be others, but the focus of the story will begin to set on someone else. Can anyone guess who Botan is? HINT: She's actually not an OC (technically). _


	7. Chapter 6: With Her Little Eyes

**Author's Note: **_Welcome to Cerberus Syndrome. Hope I caught you off guard. *Cue maniacal laughter*. In all seriousness, there has to be a plot or I'd have to label this slice of life or something. This chapter marks the transition between Akiharumi and Mami. Unfortunately Aki still turns up throughout the chapter, but Charlotte and Mami are intended to be the true focus. And I can't promise anything in particular, but silliness will be back, you will laugh again. *cue curtain closing*_

Chapter 6: With Her Little Eyes

"Your sister moved out yesterday. Didn't she tell you?"

"Big brother!"

"Mother never loved us..."

"Melon-head? Like she'll ever look at you!"

"You'll never save her."

"Die scumbag! You're so useless! A pile of dung has more potential than you!"

"It's time Aki. Or should I say Nova?"

"CHEESE!"

"CHEESE!" Charlotte screamed as she tackled Akiharumi's head in loving desperation. The miniaturized dessert witch had waited diligently by the makeshift hospital bed by her adoptive sister's side, waiting for the day her eyes would open and look for more cheese. Aki groaned in agony as fire enflamed every muscle in her body, rubbing her head. Once again she found herself in her abandoned home, a warehouse, with a few new additions. Two other beds were to her side, each hosting a sleeping girl. Sayaka was sleeping soundly in her gown over the bed sheet, snoring occasionally. Mami was wrapped up tightly, and twitching with a distressed expression on her sleeping face. This worried Aki and spurned her to jump out of bed. At first the world spun around her, but she quickly regained her balance. Just as she was about to shake Mami awake…

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a gruff voice warned. Aki spun around and raised her left arm to fire. A look of confusion spread on her as she gazed at her inert arm. A stranger, cloaked in a robe of bellowing shadows, sat on a nearby crate, smugly waving her orange soul gem in hand.

"You're lucky to be alive. If it weren't for me, you and your friends wouldn't be just witch city right now, you'd probably be causing your very own Walpurgisnacht, and we wouldn't want that now would we?" The stranger hopped off of the crate and floated toward Aki, not leaving a single footprint. Aki held out her hand reluctantly so the hooded figure could hand her soul gem back. The figure held it back for a moment to make one last point.

"I think you need to be reminded of our agreement. I'll give this back if you can answer my question. Otherwise I can just save time and smash the damn thing and everything would be back to normal." Aki growled, sighed, and bowed her head in submission.

"What is your mission?" the mysterious figure asked. Aki took a deep breath and replied.

"Quarantine. Capture. Exterminate," she grumbled.

"And if you fail any of these guidelines?"

Aki gulped in response.

"Good girl." The stranger tossed back her soul gem in approval, proud to hear a perfect recital. Apparently this magical girl wasn't completely useless after all.

"I'll be checking in again in a week. Expect a surprise in the next few days," the stranger paused as he turned away, "Oh, and sorry about that last witch. That was the Copycat witch; it escaped a couple days ago. If your friends had taken any longer to kill it, its illusions would've driven you insane. So take a day off, but get back to work immediately, you hear me?"

"Yes."

"Yes what?" The stranger barked.

"Yes _sir,_" Akiharumi responded begrudgingly. She swore she saw a glimmer of a smug smile beneath the dark hood of the figure. He finished turning and left the warehouse through the hole that Aki had secretly blasted through the wall. She resolved to repair it for later. A soft cry interrupted her thoughts. Mami clutched her pillow tightly and muttered something in her sleep. Aki walked over and patted her head, hoping to calm her down. Mami tilted her head toward the hand and muttered something Aki couldn't hear, and began crying. Aki rubbed her head some more, wondering what could summon what anguish in such a powerful veteran. Charlotte, surprisingly enough, had stayed on Aki's bed and respected her master's wish of not bothering the sleeping girl, despite the fact that her hair strongly resembled cheese shavings. A chill swept across her feet, prompting Aki to go back to sleep on her displaced hospital bed. Before falling to the oblivion of sleep, Aki examined her soul gem: it was clear once more.

Mami woke up to a sigh of relief emanating from nearby. She rubbed her eyes, stretched her bare arms, and looked to the source. A familiar orange head was lying on a pillow, blissfully asleep. Her would-be killer was sleeping on top of the bulging blanket, obviously waiting for a moment to snag some cheese. Mami shivered. Her hospital gown was modest enough, but not enough to handle the early spring chill that the inhospitable warehouse offered. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep at her home, after dragging Akiharumi from the shack with Sayaka's help. It was fortunate that Sayaka was able to close everyone's wounds with magic, but everyone was low on power and too exhausted to hunt for a weak witch. Sayaka managed to strike some deal with Kyoko (who Mami had yet to make up with), and had received one of her spare seeds, which she shared with Mami. No one knew what exactly would happen if the gems grew empty; the thought of how close she came managed to rattle Mami.

Many thoughts whirled in her head, several questions and theories coming and going. No matter how the events had played out to land her in Aki's warehouse in a hospital bed, Mami was just glad Madoka hadn't seen her in their moment of weakness. She had seen weaker girls crumble under the pressure of seeing a friend in a critical situation. Albeit merely knowing her for a couple weeks, Mami knew full well that Madoka would have intervened and attempt to rouse the magical girls' spirits in the midst of battle; the battle had gone horribly enough, another distraction would have cost an unnecessary casualty.

Mami leaned back her head and rested it upon the pillow, holding up her soul gem and illuminating the dim space. It wasn't night quite yet, but Mami figured it had been at least a few days before she had come to. Physically, she felt well and at ease; Sayaka's healing ability was much more potent than the standard use of the soul gem. Mentally she felt drained. The witch that they had fought used a form of psychic assault, an uncommon but not unheard of tactic. It reminded her of a witch she had fought a few days ago, one with a television for a head. Recovery was different for the mind than the body, but Mami felt merely exhausted rather than traumatized. She wondered if Aki and Kyoko were recovering well. Aki more so because of her prolonged exposure and head trauma, Kyoko because of her extended history that a psychic could exploit. Mami didn't really worry about Sayaka, the witch had barely held her for a moment and she doubted that Sayaka had any real history before becoming a magical girl.

Her thoughts continued, unhindered by any outside influence. She knew that she had to leave soon and make up time for school, but she couldn't leave her colleagues unconscious and in need. Deciding to supervise from the comfort of the bed, Mami's thoughts turned to witches themselves. Originally everyone had thought that they were monsters that spread curses and were mainly interested in making humans their main course (which, except for few exceptions, is true), she couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it, especially since Charlotte's debut. A magical girl's job is simple: kill the witch, get the seed. Mami pondered the characteristics of the witches she's defeated as she turned her soul gem back into a ring and proceeded to put it on.

Mami's hand froze. A small fragment of light, from a streetlamp nearby, penetrated the warehouse from a hole in the wall nearby and brightened Mami's line of sight. On her ring, which she had spent countless hours studying, were inscribed runes. Four runes were etched, runes that Mami had never been able to decipher. What had just occurred to Mami was a revelation she should have reached ages ago after being in this turbulent life for so long. She had seen these runes before! In every witch barrier, there were runes and different manners of writings spread out in a chaotic fashion; most hunters would pay these no heed as they focused on their prey. Mami had completely ignored them because she couldn't understand them, despite having her very own etchings! Mami abruptly sat up from her bed.

She flung off the covers, swung her legs over and down onto the ground, and walked over to Aki's bed while ignoring the warehouse's chill. Akiharumi lay peaceful in her slumber, occasionally snoring in synchronization with the dessert witch Charlotte. Mami stood for a few minutes in observation, determining if both entities were truly asleep. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the witch, deciding if its distress would awaken her adoptive "sister". A decision was made, for better or worse, and action was taken.

"CHE-mph!" Charlotte screamed as Mami interrupted her pleasant dream by scooping the witch up and covering her mouth with her hand. The witch, deciding she did not like being manhandled so roughly, squirmed and attempted to bite the hand holding her. Unfortunately this did not work, as Aki's magic had sealed her inner form and thus her teeth. Mami cursed softly and conjured a small enchanted ribbon around Charlotte's head, efficiently silencing her. Now that the witch was powerless _and_ silenced, Mami began her investigation. The witch, unable to make noise, squirmed in protest as Mami lifted her, rotated her in several directions, and lifted up parts of her hair and clothing in investigation. Eventually Mami found what she was looking for, which made her gasp in surprise.

Aki groaned in her sleep, causing Mami to jolt and freeze in place. Lucky for her Aki smacked her lips and muttered something about cupcakes. After a few heartbeats, Mami continued. Careful not to remove her bind on the witch, Mami carefully peeled back the bottom lip of the witch. If Charlotte had teeth, Mami was sure she'd be missing a few fingers by now. However this thought was pushed aside as she came across not one, but two incredible findings. The first was the inside of the lip, which inscribed were nine runes like the ones on her ring. Mami credited this to the witch's nature of eating. She resolved to draw them later in her notes of magical theory. Her finger pulled back ever so slightly, as to avoid opening the witch's mouth enough to allow any screams. Inside the witch's gullet, subtly protruding from its stomach was a single black spike. Mami immediately recognized it, and briefly brainstormed. She held back the witch and initiated eye-contact.

"Look, if you promise not to make any noise and cooperate with me, I'll give you cheese and tea," Mami whispered as to not disturb anyone. The witch deliberated for a moment before nodding in response. With great caution Mami dissipated her ribbon. True to her word the witch remained silent. Mami held the witch closer, holding it to her bosom. With one hand holding the witch, Mami used the other to reach into the witch's mouth. Wary of any trickery, Mami held her breath as she drew out her hand carefully, which was grasping a familiar object. Opening her hand above the witch, the veteran widened her eyes as a single grief seed (with a grey feather stuck on it) laid upon the palm of her hand.

"…" Charlotte tilted her head up toward Mami. The witch and magical girl made eye contact. A mutual agreement was made between them as Mami kneeled down to the ground and put down the witch. She took off her ring and turned it back into its original form and held it out to the grief seed. The seed was completely empty, despite it coming from a completely healthy witch. At first Mami's soul gem reacted in the normal manner, the black corruption floated out of it and began to be absorbed by the grief seed. However, to Mami's surprise, the grief seed reacted as well. An orange spark flashed in the grief seed and it began glowing pink. A small trail of miasma reached out from this aura and met Mami's soul gem, which began glowing as well. The line of light created changed from pink to a peachy color.

"What the…" Mami uttered as she watched the spectacle. The corruption that she had meant to clean out began draining back into her soul gem, but in smaller amounts. The peach miasma confused her until she leaned down to examine it further. Upon close analysis, she could make out a small trail of magic from her soul gem streaming into the grief seed, while the grief seed returned the favor with a pinkish glow. Rather than clean her soul gem, the grief seed has created a magic current!

"This, this is amazing!" Mami whispered rather loudly, "How are you doing this?" Her mind raced at the implications. If experimented with properly, she could devise a method to reduce the demand of hunting all magical girls faced, allowing longer and more efficient training methods! It would certainly allow more practice with magic rather than weaponry, due to everyone's magical limits.

"I don't know. Whenever I cuddle with Big Sister it happens. She says it keeps the voices away." Mami tilted her head in confusion.

"Voices? What voices?"

"The other-"Charlotte was interrupted mid-sentence as a gleaming pink spear flew between them, piercing the ground. Mami jumped to her feet and jerked her head toward its origin. From her hospital bed sat Aki, hand reaching out. Mami had no idea Aki had concealed such an ability, but there was no doubt Aki had elongated her fingernails into a single, deadly spear. Aki's face was one of twisted horror. Her good eye glared fiercely at Mami, enough for Mami to sense a slight killing intent. On the left side of her face, where her eye used to be, was a gaping black hole with dried blood lines running down her face. Her disfigured face upset the seasoned veteran, who had forgotten the damage her friend had sustained. A few gears began churning in her head, causing her to have yet another realization. One eye meant that her depth perception was most likely off, which meant…

Aki had tried to kill her.

Apparently the witch had a much more adverse effect on Aki than Mami had realized, she speculated. Aki retracted her spear and leaped out of her bed. Towering over her in her hospital gown, they maintained eye contact. From her position, Mami was at a disadvantage. By the time she could conjure a flintlock pistol, let alone transform, Aki would be decorating the warehouse with her head on a pike. Mami gulped and tried to reason with her.

"Let's not be so hasty. Let's calm down, take Charlotte out for some cheese, and have some tea," Mami offered, applying extra honey to her words. She was accustomed to playing the mentor role, and occasionally "big sister" to some girls, and was using her experience to whatever advantage she could. Aki narrowed her eye to a slit and pondered for a moment, not lowering her deadly hand for a single instant. After what seemed like an eternity to Mami, Aki took a step and bent over, offering her hand to Mami.

Even if it was a trick, Mami had no other choice than to take it. Aki helped her up, staring at her the whole time. Facing each other, Aki held out her hand and Mami deposited Charlotte's grief seed. The seed's aura disconnected from Mami's and immediately changed from a peach color to a darker salmon color. A noticeable effect was placed on Aki; she sighed, relaxed, and knelt down to Charlotte. The witch responded when Aki clicked her tongue and sluggishly wobbled over to her. Charlotte swallowed her soul gem when Aki dropped it over her head. The cute witch began bouncing in excitement once more and hopped on top of her head. The young magical girl laughed in relief, and stood up to face her mentor.

"Sorry about that. I thought you killed her or something. Whatever, it's fine now. I'll make sure Sayaka gets home, but I think you have something to do," Aki told Mami in a calm manner, a stark contrast to her demeanor a few minutes ago. Slightly taken aback, Mami was noticeably confused. Aki sighed and dropped her shoulders.

"Botan! Don't you have a date to finish?" She inquired, putting a finger on her lips in curiosity.

"Eh, we were just hanging out! And that was days ago, wasn't it?" Mami answered, wondering how much time had passed. Multiple emotions went through Aki's dark eyes, though her face never moved a muscle.

"Doesn't matter. It's impolite to leave a lady waiting!" Mami responded to this by placing her hands on her hips.

"Don't tell me about manners, you've probably never even asked a girl out before!" Mami accused, glad that the tension had been broken by Aki's mood swing. Aki's eye widened, and caused Mami to wince. However, rather than anger, Aki responded with mischief.

"Oh, so you do remember I'm a boy? I was afraid everyone was starting to forget," Aki snickered, moving closer to Mami rather threateningly. Blood rushed to her ears as she stood there, waiting for the worst to happen. Aki, who was the same height as Mami now, stood less than a foot away. The atmosphere was silent enough for their nervous breathing to be audible; Mami was nervous that Aki would do something mischievous. The strange girl grinned and leaned over to whisper something in Mami's ear.

"Two weeks. That's all you've got. Enjoy it while you can." Aki leaned back and smiled, closing her eye in blissful joy. Mami, feeling cold from her lack of leggings, took a step back. Before she knew anything was happening, she staggered back as Aki threw herself onto her, pulling Mami into a hug. Mami's gown began dampening has Aki buried her head under Mami's.

"What's wrong?" Mami asked, genuinely concerned. To be fair, a lot had happened in the last few weeks. Both girls had suffered near-death experiences, and only one was used to it. Aki sniffled a reply.

"So-so-ometimes… sometimes a witch isn't enough," Aki whimpered. She received a pat on the head in response. Mami rested her hand, pondering how much the younger girl had gone through. An orphan of one year, displaced in a foreign universe and country, suddenly introduced to a dark underworld of magic and suffering as a result. It finally dawned on her why Aki had made such an audacious choice in a short manner of time.

She really had no choice.

Aki continued to sob into Mami's shoulder. While it was clear that she was quite cheerful, Mami knew that Aki was far from a warrior; far weak-willed than Sayaka, who had just started her career. Mami pulled Aki closer, finally understanding her. A thought crossed her mind to question her friend's cryptic warning about the next two weeks, but decided she was too emotionally unstable at the moment. Aki finally stopped crying and pulled back, making eye contact with Mami once more without moving her arms.

"What are you guys doing?" Sayaka asked perplexed, as she sat up from the sanctuary of her bed. Mami broke eye contact and looked over to Sayaka, blood rushing to her face. She had heard of moments like these, where a simple misunderstanding would quickly escalate. Being entangled in one another's arms wasn't helping either.

"Wait, this is a misund-"Mami started, but was cut off.

"I know what you're thinking, and that's a no. A big no. I'm just being a crybaby, that's all," Aki explained rather bluntly, prepared for moments like these. Most young men, from the start of puberty, have had their fair share of miscommunications. Her experience from the golden years had made her wary of such misunderstandings. Sayaka's eyes flicked back and forth between the two, apparently she bought it.

"Are you sure you're not being a pervert?" She asked earnestly, not an ounce of anger erupting out of her. Aki nodded in response.

"I'm sure. No worries!"

"You sure? You're still holding her," Sayaka questioned with an eyebrow raised.

Aki dropped her arms in response. Mami followed suit. Sayaka relaxed, and hopped out of bed. The three girls gathered together and examined each other, looking for any wounds that needed healing. Sayaka and Mami's soul gems were a bit dirtied, but it wasn't enough to be worried about. They discussed how they had arrived at the warehouse, but nobody could propose a suitable theory. Except for Aki's missing eye, nobody had any wounds left to heal.

The chill in the warehouse was not willing to subside anytime soon, so they transformed into their combat outfits for added warmth to look for their clothes. Sayaka was the one to find them, neatly folded on a nearby crate. The girls separated briefly to change into their uniforms. After doing so, they met up one more by the hospital beds. Aki took a deep breath.

"I don't care what exactly happened, but let's just pretend the last few days never happened."

"Agreed," Mami and Sayaka nodded in agreement. Aki told them that she was going to be busy for a few days; Mami promised to check back in every once in a while and followed Sayaka out of the building. Aki's strange personality shifts had frightened Mami, but it wasn't the first time she's seen such phenomenon.

"That was some witch," Sayaka exclaimed as she walked outside in the fresh air, stretching her arms behind her head. Mami figured her parents would be worried about Sayaka.

"I've never seen a witch with such specialized powers though. Psychic powers are one thing, but stealing powers from its prey? Expecting a witch to be so pragmatic is what allows a magical girl to achieve victory, but I've never seen it at this level. Either this witch had evolved or…" Mami began thinking about her earlier revelation.

"Is it me, or have the last few witches seem rather… similar?" Sayaka asked the veteran full of wonder. The question spurned even more thoughts from Mami.

"I'm not quite sure, but there's something we need to do. We need a grief seed." This took Sayaka by surprise.

"Well yeah, of course. We do need to clean our soul gems, but I'm not sure why you want to dive into battle so quickly," a nervous Sayaka commented. Mami found it strange that her hot-blooded ward was the one trying to avoid another fight while she was the one trying to start another. However, her thoughts did not go unrewarded as she snapped her fingers.

"I got it. No more surprises, why don't we just get a used one?" Mami questioned. Sayaka's mouth twitched. Mami acknowledged her line of thought may be rather confusing and somewhat random.

"It's for my theory on magic. I want to learn more about the witches we fight after all. And we can just pick up a grief seed from Kyoko; she's bound to have an extra." Sayaka, happy with this explanation, nodded her approval.

"Well, what do you see?" Sayaka badgered as Mami examined the grief seed. The scholarly magical girl was too busy jotting down the runic inscriptions to reply. She had a good memory and had written down Charlotte's as well, and her own for good measure. Even by comparing them she had no leads. Her soul gem had four runes, Charlotte's had nine, and the new soul gem had eight. Fighting in mind-bending barriers did wonders for Mami's perception which helped with puzzles. However this one had her stumped. Mami and Charlotte's runes shared one rune with each other. The new seed didn't share any runes with Mami, but shared two identical runes with one of Charlotte's. She couldn't see any pattern yet, and was about to give up in frustration.

"Here, this might help. I found it on kitchen counter," Sayaka stated as she handed Mami another grief seed as she sat down with a steaming cup of tea. _That's right!_ Mami thought as she sipped her own tea. They had gone witch hunting together a couple days ago and hadn't had the time to give it to Kyubey for safety. Mami examined this one and wrote down the thirteen runes without the periods and parenthesis. Her back straightened in perplexing surprise. Why would witch runes have punctuation in the first place?

"What do these mean?" Mami asked herself, not having any leads. Sayaka eyed her and leaned over. After reading her current notes on the matter, Sayaka offered a suggestion.

"Maybe your ring if your name? I mean, they both have four letters," Sayaka proposed, sipping her tea. Mami scratched her head. Perhaps that was true, but then that must mean… Mami reached over and grasped Sayaka's hand, pulling it up to examine her ring. True to her theory, the ring had six letters. With this possibility in hand, Mami did some quick deciphering to the best of her ability.

MAMI.

SAYAKA.

CHARLOTTE (most likely this was the witch's real name after all).

_ERTR_D.

H._. ELLY.

Mami chewed her pencil, pondering on the remaining runes. She recalled that the witch Sayaka had helped take down had a computer to it. It was a long-shot, but if she assumed that if witches were connected to humanity more so than she thought, then the remaining rune was an "N". As for the last grief seed…

"Can't figure it out?" Sayaka asked as Mami banged her head on the table. Mami was always careful not to show any signs of weakness around her learning colleagues, but her curiosity and anxiety had gotten the better of her. Sayaka glanced over it once more, but wasn't able to come up with any useful ideas.

"Wait! I got it! Why don't we ask someone who'll know?" Sayaka queried. Mami sat up and thought about this one.

"Who in the world is going to know about magic runes?"

"Well, I can think of two people we can ask. First," Sayaka lifted her index finger, "we can ask Kyubey. To be honest I don't think he'll know; he seems more interested in making contracts than learning about witches."

"That is true," Mami admitted. Sayaka cleared her throat to keep Mami from drifting into her thoughts again.

"However, there is one person I am absolutely sure will know. Can you name the type of person who would know the most about witches?"

"I'm sure that was rhetorical, but please enlighten me."

"Imagine this: you want to learn how to draw. Who are you going to ask?"

"An artist of course. After all that is their expertise- Oh. You don't mean?" Mami asked. Sayaka gave a nod of affirmation.

"But how? I'm sure she only answers to _her_." Sayaka wagged her finger in response.

"You're forgetting one thing. There is one thing in the world she adores as much, if not more so. And lucky for you, you resemble what she loves. Getting her to talk is up to your charm and wit," Sayaka declared, a determined look creeping into her eyes. Mami swallowed the last of her tea.

"Yes, I understand I do bear a slight resemblance to her exquisite tastes, but I hardly doubt I'd be able to overwhelm her to the point of divulging the secrets of her race," Mami refuted. Sayaka laughed.

"I think you're forgetting something. It's all in your hair, yes, but what if we extend it past that?" Sayaka excitably offered.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Mami was ignored as Sayaka stood up and raised a determined fist. Her pose was somewhat silly, but reflected her thoughts.

"Meet me at the warehouse after school. Bring a yellow shirt," Sayaka ordered Mami. Mami stared at her, astonished to hear such authority from the neonate. Mami agreed to do so, deciding that Sayaka had helped enough to take charge. Done with their magic studies, Sayaka parted and headed home after a phone call to her parents explaining the situation. Fortunately for them they had only passed out for a day, making Sayaka's sleep-over study excuse plausible. It did help that she often slept in class.

The night passed without incident.

The next day Mami waited by the warehouse diligently, awaiting her colleague who had rushed home to retrieve supplies. She was worried Aki would notice if she decided to walk straight home from school, but the injured girl had not attended school that day. She was tempted to peek into the warehouse, but was afraid Aki would get angry at the intrusion or worse. Eventually her wait bore fruit as Sayaka approached with a large bag.

"Here, help me unfold this," Sayaka ordered, handing Mami a sizeable piece of cardboard. It folded out into a simple box. Sayaka reached into her bag and pulled out a plate, a slice of gourmet cheese, a fan, and a stick with a piece of string tied onto it. Mami's eyes flicked back and forth between the hodgepodges of items and sighed.

"Your ideas interested me until this. We're tasked with capturing a lesser being of a monstrous race that gains power by driving humans to violence and despair and you bring out a childish capture method. Do you seriously think this will work?"

"Yes, she's quite stupid." Sayaka's blunt explanation caused Mami to open her mouth in protest, but she quickly closed it. Try as she might, she couldn't ignore the fact that the witch was rather… underdeveloped. Relenting to the wisdom of her friend, Mami helped set out the trap. Reassured that the trap would spring if disturbed, she flipped on the fan. The two girls ran away and hid behind a nearby dumpster in the alleyway.

A few minutes passed without any results. Eventually a familiar caped figure appeared in the hole of the warehouse. The cute dessert witch sniffed as she sensed her favorite food. Her method of bouncing toward the cheese was adorable enough to stir a smile on even Mami's face. The witch bent over and sniffed the cheese suspiciously. Sayaka held her breath in anticipation, hoping the witch wouldn't notice anything odd about the box.

_Plop_.

Quick as lightning, the two magical girls sprung out from their hiding place, closed and sealed the box with magical ribbons, and carried the box out before the witch could give out an audible scream. A few people gave the girls odd looks as they ran through the city carrying the rattling box. The box shook bent in a few places, but the witch was not able to get out. As luck would have it, the girls were able to reach the park without any mishap.

"Here, put this on," Sayaka commanded, reaching into her backpack and throwing a yellow bundle to Mami. She unfolded it and smiled. A cute yellow sundress was given to her. Mami made sure the area was secure and empty of any bystanders before she took off her school uniform and change into the sundress. Since the dress belonged to Sayaka, Mami didn't have much room higher up, but the yellow undershirt she had worn covered anything to revealing. As embarrassing as it might be for her to acknowledge Mami's seniority, Sayaka was still thinking of others.

"Wow Mami! You look so pretty!" Sayaka squealed as Mami spun, causing her skirt to rise and show off the details of the dress from all angles. As cute as it might be, they did have a job to do after all.

"Alright. I'm dressed for the part now. But what exactly do I have to do?" Mami inquired, curious of what role she had to play. She knew she had to exploit the witch's eccentric personality, but not the method she had to do it.

"Simple. Seduce her."

"What? But she's a witch and we're both girls…" Mami replied, twiddling her thumbs nervously. Sayaka sighed in response.

"Not like that, of course. What I mean is, do what Aki does. Coddle her, call her endearing names. Besides, you do have one thing Aki doesn't in a certain department, and that would certainly help with cuddling." This caused Mami to blush profusely.

"My what exactly?"

"Your hair, obviously," Sayaka answered motioning toward her own head, "Remember Charlotte's comment about cheese shavings? I know half the things she says is nonsense, but it still pays to pay attention." Mami found this amusing coming from a well-known slacker, but did not let it show outward. One large outburst of the box managed to tip it over to another side, making the two girls rush to their positions. Sayaka hid behind a tree and gave a thumb's up, signaling the beginning of her surveillance. Mami proceeded to lay out a picnic blanket and basket, courtesy of Sayaka. Using a slight amount of her magic, she summoned two tea cups (despite all her magic studies, she couldn't only chalk this up to plain personality) to accompany this meal.

The time was right. Mami dispelled her ribbons and unleashed the witch from the box. At first the witch blasted through the box with an explosion of cupcakes and was preparing to charge the magical girls, but stopped at an astounding sight. The blonde magical girl lay on her side atop the picnic blanket, one hand on her hip and the other holding a plate of cheese. The combination of the yellow sundress, blonde hair, and golden eyes screamed _Eat Me_ to the little witch. Before she could pounce, Mami held up the cheese and clicked her tongue. Charlotte had been conditioned to receive rewards like this and could not help but pounce on the cheese instead.

It was absolutely delicious! One would wonder why a witch with the ability to make any treat would adore such a mediocre ingredient, but the witch loved her beloved food. Her usual treats had bored her after a while, and nowadays she only conjured her delicious pastries for battle and feeding her big sister (who was too poor to buy real food beyond ramen).

Charlotte smacked her lips after finishing and prepared to leave. Before she could do so, Mami reached out and wrapped her arms around Charlotte. Charlotte squirmed and cried out. Mami responded by pulling up her knees and curling up around Charlotte, nearly completely surrounding her. No matter how hard she struggled, the witch could not escape. A moment passed until she relaxed. All the yellow around her coaxed her into submission, allowing Mami access to conversation. Deciding the time was right; Mami opened her lips and began singing.

It was a beautiful song; a ballad of witches and magical girls, of their struggles against each other and their fate in the world. Mami sung about her adventures with Kyoko, and their falling out. She sung about Madoka's choice and the one she was never given. She sung about all the friends and family she had lost, and the countless girls who have fallen in battle before her. Feeling a connection with Charlotte who had grown silent, she relented to her inner desire and sung about all the witches she had slain and the defiance of a cruel fate they had shown. She ended the song with the revelation that magical girls and witches were connected and perhaps not so different after all. She wasn't sure if that was to reassure Charlotte or herself.

Before becoming a magical girl, Mami had dreamed about someday becoming an idol and singing onstage. Her notes, not having been used in quite a while, were still stained with honey and quite clear in execution; a testament to the hours she used to practice while dreaming. This dream's life was cut short with her family on the day her family's car had crashed. It was only because of Kyubey she had been able to live without scrutiny to this day.

Charlotte became silent and looked up to Mami, enchanted by her song. Mami took advantage of this moment and pulled out the unknown grief seed and held it up to her.

"Sweetie, can you tell me what this means?" Mami bit her lip, hoping the witch wouldn't an ulterior motive or feel a sense of betrayal to her race.

"Gertrud. It means Gertrud," Charlotte answered earnestly. Mami gasped in surprise. She reached down into the basket and grabbed another.

"And this one?"

"Elly."

"And this?" Mami held out her ring in desperation, longing to find out the answer to her burning questions.

"Mami," the witch confirmed. Mami rolled onto her back, still holding the witch. Gazing at the afternoon sky, she couldn't help but let her mind wander. There was a connection, she was sure of it, but she wasn't sure exactly what. A few theories crossed her mind, but she ignored them and decided they weren't possible. However, it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Hey Mami!" A familiar voice cried out. Sayaka leapt out behind the tree to intercept the passerby, not knowing Mami had achieved their goal. Botan ran through the park to meet up with the two magical girls. Deciding that she done all she could, Mami released Charlotte who proceeded to bounce home.

"I was just passing by when I saw you. Where have you been? You haven't been sleeping in your own apartment for the last few days," Botan inquired, obviously worried about Mami. Mami, thanks to Aki's mischief, recognized a fleeting look of anxiety spark in Botan's eyes.

"I'm sorry about the festival, but there was an emergency," Mami apologized, bowing her head to Botan. When she had sensed the nearby witch, she pretended to receive a phone call and tell Botan that she had to leave early. Botan was a little miffed to see her friend leave so abruptly, but Mami handed her some yen and ordered her not to go home until it was completely spent.

"Oh, why didn't you say so? I mean, it's okay, I didn't mind too much. I'm here for you Mami; you can rely on me too!" Botan declared flexing an arm in a lame attempt to appear protective. Mami couldn't help but chuckle. The two had made quick friends after their introduction, and were quite comfortable in each other's company. Aki's accusation echoed in Mami's mind as she interacted with her friend.

"I didn't want to worry you, I'm sorry if I did," Mami answered. Sayaka looked back and forth between the two, wondering about the subject matter.

"You two were hanging out together at the festival? I thought you had dates," Sayaka asked the duo. Mami and Botan exchanged glances.

"We are friends, but we really just told that to Aki to get her to…" Mami trailed off in shame. She had blown off her friend with such a stupid excuse, which while wasn't completely false, was an obvious cop-out.

"Aki is a little clingy if you ask me. Mami needed a little break so I asked her on a date. Is that a problem? Hm?" Botan teased, twiddling a lock of hair. Unlike Mami, she was completely at ease and honest; Mami was not always so expressive, used to hiding her inner emotions and desires.

"Oh. Well, that is true. She is…" Sayaka laughed her awkwardness off. Being a transfer student, she was bound to latch onto the first friends she could. Mami and Sayaka knew it went a little beyond that, but it wasn't their right to tell Botan about her predicament.

"Crap! Look at the time! I got to go!" Sayaka cried out, realizing how late it was becoming. Mami agreed and decided to head back home with Botan. Sayaka gathered her belongings and ran out from the park. On the way home she decided that she had enough time before dinner to visit a certain someone and make her day. A hop, skip, and (magical) jump away led her to a house she hadn't visited in several years. She rang the doorbell and waited impatiently, vehemently muttering under her breath her wish for time to hurry up.

"Welcome to our ho- well hello Sayaka. Here to visit young Kyousuke today?" an older woman answered the door. Sayaka answered excitably and was invited in. She was led to his room where he was practicing the violin and creating beautiful music. As long as she could remember Sayaka had loved his music, and was always there to encourage him to follow his dreams. It was only recently that she had discovered her feelings for him. At first she had denied them, chalking it up to teenage hormones, but Madoka's encouragement inspired her to at least try.

The two teenagers idly chatted for a while, and the young boy proceeded to overwhelm the mesmerized girl with sweet notes. He had attempted to write his own song and Sayaka was pleased by it. An hour passed in this manner until his father stopped by and reminded Sayaka that her parents would be missing her. Annoyed at having her time cut short, she gave Kyousuke a short farewell and bolted home, hoping that dinner would be delicious and oddly craving cheese.

A strange sight met her on her dash home. Waiting by a lamppost was Homura, the mysterious magical girl who she had met the day Mami had come close to losing her life. She was in her class, strangely enough, but the two never truly interacted. Before she could pass by, the fellow magical girl walked up and blocked her path.

"Have you seen Madoka?" Homura asked in her cold monotone. Sayaka didn't understand her obsession with Madoka, lesbian gossip aside, but gave it a quick thought.

"No, I haven't. Is something wrong?" A look of anguish came across the normally stoic magical girl.

"She's not home. Usually today she would be, but that one witch happens to appear in the area. She might have… I have to go!" Homura turned around and began to sprint. Before she could get away Sayaka grabbed her sleeve.

"Hey! At least let me come with you!" Homura stopped pulling and turned to face her.

"No. You're a liability against this witch. You can't handle it," Homura told her, flipping her hair with her hand. Sayaka puffed her cheeks in response and slapped her. The cold girl put her hand on her cheek.

"I nearly died the other day, and handled it. The least you can do is give me a little respect." For some reason these words managed to stir Homura a little.

"Very well. If you think you can handle it, you may accompany me. However, if I tell you to run, you run. Deal?" Homura offered, holding out her hand. Sayaka grabbed it and shook.

If incubators and humans had one thing in common, it was the habit of striking deals. This was the one thought Kyubey had as he watched the two magical girls shake, despite their lack of familiarity. Everything had gone to hell after two certain girls had entered his life, but he was sure one day he would be able to get Madoka to contract. Perhaps it would be today…

_BLAM!_

Kyubey once again spontaneously burst, leaving giant blood splatter. Walking away with her colleague, Homura couldn't help grin as she left the scene that was left unobserved by Sayaka. Hidden underneath her shirt that she had untucked earlier was her shield, allowing her to do a stealth time stop. There was no real point in this, but Homura couldn't transform in the middle of the street or risk exposure, and she couldn't resist the chance to shoot the demon incubator.

After all she's been through; it was a real stress relief.

_What did I tell you? I want to write an OC similar to Kazumi and Oriko, a new main character who helps drive a new plot in the timelines, but shifting the focus midway toward a new character. Hopefully this transition worked. If you don't like OC's, then good news! Akiharumi won't be in the next chapter (most likely). If you do enjoy OC's, good news! Botan and Charlotte (who aren't completely OC's, however) will show up in great abundance. If Botan seems a little OOC this time around, it's because she's teasing Mami because of her popularity with boys (think about it). I'm sorry if you're a fan of Madoka's character, but she didn't show up in this chapter. She'll be getting her screen time of course. And if you noticed how late this update it was; it was because I was busy with yucky life stuff. I will make it up of course by updating ANOTHER chapter sooner than you think. Until next time…_

_TIRO FINALE!_


	8. Chapter 7: Shut up, just shut up

**Author's Note: **_Damn, woke up this morning and I still don't own Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Maybe that's what I should contract for! Well here you go: an early release of the next chapter. When I beat writer's block, I beat writer's block. Special thanks to DappledKarma and company for helping me edit this to make sure it's yet another quality read. Enjoy!_

Chapter 7: This is boring! When can I be in the story?

Two figures, cloaked in shadows, sat atop a crate in the empty warehouse. The taller one sat still, twiddling thumbs. The shorter one leaned back on two arms and sighed.

"Do we have to keep wearing these? I mean come on, there's nobody here who'll recognize us! If you ask me this is a lame excuse to appear all mysterious and majestic," the shorter figure complained with a young, shrill female voice. The taller one sighed in irritation. It was true the secrecy was a bit over the top. The only one who really needed it was their resident colleague, but meeting near and inside the warehouse made that point somewhat moot.

"You know what? Screw it. Off goes the robes," the young girl declared, proceeding to remove the unnecessary layer of clothing. The taller figure watched the girl as she revealed her form.

"Auburn…" she warned, using an alto voice that sounded several years older.

"It's Mariko. That's it, I'm done. I haven't even been in this city before!" the younger girl screamed. She appeared twelve years old, with luscious locks of curly lime strung out in every direction. Despite her messy appearance, she had the looks of an adorable child. Her outfit was that of a maid, if one were made for a child her age.

"Oh Mariko, you're so childish," the other girl chuckled, stripping off her robes as well. She was a head taller than her friend and sported a cropped magenta haircut. Her magic garments were similar themed to Mariko's, a masculine butler outfit. Any outside observer would take them as childish cosplayers squatting in the warehouse. They weren't.

"What's taking her so long?" Mariko complained, leaning back further. She began kicking her legs in impatience.

"Patience dear, we're not expected until tomorrow. The least we can do is allow her to enjoy her time off," her friend reasoned.

"Pft, what could she possibly be doing? Ogling over melon-"

"Mariko, that's enough! Geez, you can be so childish sometimes…"

"Rena… don't be so mean!" Mariko replied, giving her friend a raspberry. Rena responded with a surprise slap to the back of her head. Caught by surprise, the little maid fell off the crate and landed flat on the ground. As she pulled herself up Rena lightly jumped down.

"I don't like this city very much, and the comfort is minimal at best. But perhaps we can enjoy the time we have to spend waiting?" Rena suggested, holding out her hand. Mariko took it and allowed her friend to bring her to her feet. Without letting go of her hand, Mariko stood up on her tiptoes and…

"Um, hope I'm not interrupting anything…" a nervous voice apologized behind the two. Walking out from behind the crate was a blue haired girl, the one they call Sayaka.

"Oh, you must be Miki-kun. Did you come for something?" Rena asked, irritated. Sayaka froze in her steps, confusion setting in.

"How'd you know my name? Are you a stalker?" Sayaka's question caused Mariko to laugh shrilly.

"Hah, that was funny! No, no, you're just a friend of Mami and Aki, are you not?" Mariko laughed, somewhat answering her question. Sayaka didn't know what was funny, but a feeling of worry took hold of her.

"Wait, how do you know them?" Sayaka asked. Mariko stopped laughing, and wiped a tear from her eyes.

"Rena here once lost an improv competition to Mami a few years ago in middle school. They've never talked, but you can hardly forget a voice like that!" Mariko answered teasingly, punching Rena in the arm. Rena was not amused.

"Yes, as Mariko-_chan_ put it," Rena started, causing Mariko to flinch shamefully, "I've seen Tomoe-san before. That was years ago though and I've been studying at a different school since. I respect her superior skills; she is a rather nice singer. We've never formally met, however. As for Orenji-san, we met under somewhat unusual circumstances-"

"Cosplay café," Mariko bragged, flashing a peace sign. _Figures_, Sayaka thought. After all they were dressed for the part.

"Well, what about you? What are you here for?" Rena asked, motioning at Sayaka. Sayaka smiled awkwardly, covertly hiding a grief seed in her sleeve.

"I was just going to drop by and go over some classwork that Aki missed over the last couple days," Sayaka responded. It was a half-truth: Aki had missed the last two days of school, but Sayaka hadn't done much but sleep during class. Botan was the one who had kept hand-written notes to give to Aki, as neither of them owned a laptop.

"Oh, how nice of you. Well, feel free stay awhile. This isn't exactly the nicest place to meet a girl, but whatever's out of the public's eye is better I suppose," Rena commented sitting back down on a crate. Her words left a perplexed effect on Sayaka.

"Uh, I think you have the wrong idea. Aki and I aren't like that…" she trailed off, not really wanting to confront the misunderstanding with a stranger.

"Oh I wasn't talking about you. From what I've heard, all a boy has to do is pluck a few strings to get your attention," Rena retorted, angering Sayaka. Before she could respond with something crude, her phone rang. Sayaka sighed and released her anger before answering.

"Hello? Oh, hey Madoka. Why do you ask? Did you see her? She's in what? By what? Oh alright, I'll handle it. Don't worry about it," Sayaka finished her conversation and hung up the phone. She wanted to insult Rena and make her pay for her cruel joke, but they probably had a job to get to.

"That was my friend. Apparently she saw Aki running away from a flock of pigeons in a princess outfit by the music store. I assume you know something about that?" Sayaka asked dryly. Of course, Aki had to be a princess, she acted like nothing but. Rena and Mariko exchanged amused glances and shrugged.

"Well, can't be too surprising. She does have a big appetite," Rena commented. Mariko gave a strong nod in agreement.

"Well toodles. Maybe we'll see you around?" Mariko waved goodbye to Sayaka and dashed off. It finally dawned on Sayaka that she had several questions for the strange duo, some not very polite, but the two had confused and rattled her to a blank. A certain sense of déjà vu settled in the back of Sayaka's mind, one she couldn't shake away.

* * *

Mami was currently sipping tea with her guest Madoka on a fine Thursday afternoon. The latter was somewhat rattled after accidentally wandering into a witch's barrier, but was completely unharmed thanks to Homura and Sayaka's quick intervention. The idea of getting lost scared her, but her exposure was so short that the witch did not have enough time to personally terrorize her. She didn't even get a proper look. Mami, having heard about her little misadventure, had invited her to tea that weekend.

"How is it Madoka? Too hot? Need any sugar?" Mami asked gently, wary that Madoka might be somewhat jumpy. Her research on witches had been put on hiatus for the meanwhile; it was true that witches and magical girls were connected, but that may be because Kyubey granted magic specifically to counter them. After witches were the embodiments of despair; magical girls were hope. She had hit a wall after running out of grief seeds to inspect and decipher and was forced to turn them in to Kyubey before they overloaded and hatched again.

"No, it's perfect," Madoka replied, sipping her tea. She attempted to lift her pinky (a common mistake many people make), but Mami gently corrected her. Madoka was slowly gaining experience in the real world, but she still had a measure of naivety like everyone else. Mami chuckled. A common mistake many people make.

"Have you thought about your wish?" Mami inquired, curious to see if Madoka had put any thought into it. She knew that business was delicate at the moment, but she wanted to see a more mature response from her junior now that she's seen it's not all fun and games. Madoka wasn't anywhere near the festival a few days ago, and although Mami would never admit accidently shooting her apprentice, albeit accidently, she was was secretly glad Madoka had a less-than-fun experience.

"Wouldn't being a magical girl be enough? There's not a lot I want," Madoka admitted. This wasn't the first time Mami had heard such musings from her juniors, and it sure wouldn't be the last. She set her teacup down.

"Power for the sake of power… there's plenty of things to wish for Madoka. You could wish for the perfect boyfriend, or to be lucky with money," Mami suggested. Those were superficial wishes and Mami knew that the potential would never give much thought for such wasteful wishes. She thought about suggesting cake as well, but now that Charlotte was around…

"SISTER!" Charlotte leaped through the window and jumped on Mami's head. Ever since Mami had tamed the miniature witch, she could barely shake it off. It was Charlotte's favorite pastime to lie on Mami's head and nibble on her locks. One time she needed help to pry off the witch after it had unhinged its jaw and wrapped its mouth around the crown of her head. Sayaka joked that a witch hat could easily become the latest fashion. She was quickly punished with ribbons.

"Yes Charlotte, I see you," Mami laughed, trying to pull off the witch from her head. Apparently she bore a striking resemblance to cheese, the witch's favorite food. Everyone thought the witch's obsession was all talk and a memento of her wilder days, until one day Mami woke up to an empty fridge. Charlotte even ate the cheesecake Mami had saved for Madoka's eventual celebration. There was only one person she knew that could eat more than the witch, but even then she figured it would be a close finish.

"Should I get the pliers?" Madoka asked, closing her eyes in amusement. The atmosphere was somewhat melancholic, but the witch seemed to be lightening the mood. Before Mami could reply, a door slamming open was heard.

Madoka quickly sprung up and helped Mami pry the witch off her head. Before Botan could turn around after locking the door, Madoka thought quickly and merely tossed the witch out the window. After all, she _could_ fly.

"I'm home! What are you in the mood for Mami? I can cook some mean ramen," Botan asked, skipping to the living room table and sitting with the girls. The two had gotten used to living together after a week; Botan was used to Mami spending long periods out for unexplained reasons. She got good grades and never got into trouble, so Botan figured she had no reason to worry. As far as living arrangements went, Botan volunteered to cook every night and Mami made sure both had clean uniforms for the next day.

"That would be nice actually. Are you staying for dinner, Madoka?"

"Um, I'll have to call mother first. I've been out a lot lately." The pink haired girl proceeded to pull out her phone and dialed her mother's phone. Mami waited patiently, understanding. She felt a pang of loneliness in her heart, remembering how her own mother used to supervise her in that modern fashion.

"Hey Mami, are you alright?" Botan asked, shaking Mami on the shoulder. Mami shook her head, driving out old memories. Those days were long gone, and there were other girls she still needed to attend to. There was no time for reliving the past.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about a test I took," she lied. Botan bought it and smiled.

"I'm sure you did fine. Studying for next year's college exams?" She asked. It was common knowledge Mami was the scholarly type, keeping up with her studies both mundane and magical. Madoka finished her phone call and hung up. Having permission to stay, she and Mami chatted idly while Botan whipped up a simple meal. She wasn't the greatest cook, but her ramen smelled tantalizing after a few minutes.

_Bang!_

Mami jolted. Her conversation with Madoka was cut short as something had hit her window. It sounded like a pigeon had missed its mark, but what if…

_Whump!_

"You have got to be kidding me…" Mami muttered, quietly enough for Madoka not to hear. It was a slight slip in her usual demeanor, but enough was enough.

"What was that?" Botan cried from the kitchen, referring to the noise everyone had heard. Choosing to investigate rather than answer, Mami walked up to the window Madoka had shut. Outside was Charlotte, throwing herself against the window. For some reason she didn't say anything to Mami, instead opting to throw herself yet again.

"Botan, what exactly are you putting in that ramen?" Mami shouted to the kitchen. Botan paused and turned around, wielding a large metal spoon.

"The usual: Noodles, mint leaves, slices of brisket, and just a pinch of cheese."

"How much cheese?" Mami asked curtly.

"Oh, just a little."

"How much is 'just a little'?"

"Remember that cheese wedge in the fridge? I was planning on having leftovers you know…" Botan replied, causing Mami to sigh. Fortunately she had planned for this moment after bonding with the witch, and being chewed on as a result. She walked into her room, searched a box for a small wrapped bundle, and returned to the main room. Before Charlotte could react, Mami threw open the window and flung out a small piece of cheese and shouted,

"THERE!"

Charlotte, in frenzy, dived after the falling cheese cackling like a hyena. Mami wondered if the witch would survive such a long fall, but figured the thing could fly decently enough. As long as nobody found out, there was no problem. Mami made a mental note to research a twelve-step program.

"What was that about?" Botan asked, serving up the ramen to the ravenous ladies. She had ditched her school uniform and changed into a more casual outfit before cooking, and was wearing Mami's apron to boot. Mami mused that Botan was a girl who looked much better in an apron than her, a girl more used to an elitist appearance. Shrugging her shoulders to fake a similar confusion, Mami ensued to consumer her ramen.

They were quite delicious. Someone had been practicing.

"Wow! This is amazing Botan! I'm jealous! You'll make a better wife than me someday," Madoka giggled, enjoying her meal. It's been awhile since she had a proper laugh at something other than her expense. Even if it was funny, she did get tired of Sayaka and Hitomi's teasing. The bridal jokes lately have been more frequent since Homura's arrival. What made it worse was Homura's lack of denial. She didn't say much of anything trivial, but Madoka wished she would at least say _something_.

"I guess… what do you think Mami? Would I make a good bride?" Botan asked, blinking her eyes rapidly for comedic effect. Mami choked on her noodles and laughed. Perhaps her duties could be balanced with a normal life after all; it was nice talking and laughing about subjects that didn't have the potential to maim and possibly kill her. It took a minute before she could compose a proper response.

"I don't know, I hear Madoka's shaping up pretty nicely," Mami joked, referring to Sayaka's antics. Even if she had to set an example, she couldn't resist poking a little fun at her novice. Madoka grinned and cringed, having felt relief too soon.

"Oh woe, looks like I have competition!" Botan cried dramatically, and then ruffled Madoka's hair against her will. Madoka put up a rather lackluster resistance, giggling as her pigtails were gently tugged.

_I wonder where Kyubey's been,_ Mami pondered. The contracting cat had been away for several days now, not appearing since the day with the close battle against the pragmatic witch. Mami didn't think he was out recruiting, Madoka was currently their focus and the city couldn't handle any more girls than that. Then again even a magical creature might feel the need to wander.

"Oh, it's getting late," Botan observed, noticing the sun dipping in the sky. The girls briefly cleaned up and helped Madoka prepare to walk home before dark. Madoka said her farewell as she stood in the open doorframe.

"Hey! What are you doing Saturday?" Botan asked. Madoka gave it a quick thought.

"Nothing that I can think of," she answered truthfully. Other than with Sayaka, she rarely made plans ahead of time. Botan clasped her hands and became excited.

"Perfect! How about a girls' night out?" Botan exclaimed. Madoka's mouth twitched in uneasiness.

"What do you mean? We're always hanging out…" Madoka trailed, glancing at the ground nervously. It was true, she barely knew any guys at school despite her mother's advice about popularity.

"No, I mean like a night out. A slumber party! Mami already approved of it," Botan smiled cheerfully, having finally invited her new friend to something. The other girls haven't been around her for very long, and she wanted to feel accepted into the group and get to know everyone. Mami understood her roommate's need for socialization and allowed it, knowing her previous arrangement hadn't allowed any room for such behavior. After all, it'd be heartbreaking telling the wallpaper girl she couldn't have friends over.

"Eh, okay!" Madoka cheered in return, reverting to her usual encouraging self. She had always felt talentless in comparison to her friends, but she could never let someone feel down if she could help it.

"Would you like us to walk you home, Madoka?" Mami offered out of courtesy. Her friend politely declined and returned home, having enjoyed tea and dinner.

* * *

Kazuki was taking a stroll through the park at sunset, trying to clear his head. After the festival, there was a big commotion. Inside the abandoned shack that was scheduled to be torn down (sooner or later), bloodstains were found all over the walls by a couple teenagers looking for a place to discreetly make out. Nobody knew exactly what happened, but officials swarmed over the place looking for evidence. Obviously there were no leads, causing an air of suspicion to lie over his school.

Of course he didn't care for that. What he was wondering was why that cute girl he met hadn't called him yet. The only girls he regularly socialized with were either too concerned with their studies or boys in general to be of any interest in him. The way he saw it, that girl was playing flustered and hard to get at the same time. Like most boys, he loved a challenge.

Undeniably, short of stalking, there was no way to be challenged if he couldn't find the challenge. Which, he supposed, was a challenge in itself.

Amidst his thoughts, he didn't notice a pink flurry approach him at running speed. Before he knew what was happening, he was laying on his back sprawled beside a girl a couple years his junior. They groaned in unison, and slowly got up. He was glad she didn't land on him, like several girls before her. It was a cheap way to meet someone and a sure sign they were an otaku. He didn't mind otaku, in fact he was into a certain anime himself, but he didn't like it when they applied it to real life.

The pink haired girl rubbed her head. Kazuki stood up and offered his hand to shake and apologize. The girl took it and apologized as well, explaining that she was late and needed to get home before her mother got upset.

_What a strange girl, not looking where's she going. Even when running, it's always important to keep your eyes ahead_, Kazuki thought. He didn't pay her any heed as he continued on his walk. This city was full of weirdoes, much weirder than a clumsy girl running home. Being weird wasn't a bad thing, being too normal was much worse. Kazuki was a full believer in diversity, and believed normality was only in the eyes of the beholder. After all, this city held more secrets than most cared to admit.

Kazuki wasn't an otaku in the classic sense, but he was obsessed with a certain subject: the occult. Ever since he was a child he dreamed of being an exorcist. Of course his parents laughed at such an audacious dream, but compromised by paying for kendo lessons. Even if he couldn't fight the monsters under his bed, he at least would be able to keep on the lookout for real ones. He often scoured the forums on the internet for any recent evidence of anything supernatural, but never found anything.

However, things were starting to get weird. Wind storms have picked up lately without any rain, which was unusual in early spring. Suicide rates were on the high rise and people mysteriously vanished without a trace. In the real world nobody paid any heed, but his friends on the internet were all over it, trying to discover the meaning of these developments. He had recently began chatting with a newbie to their website, a girl (supposedly, this IS the internet) by the handle "elly". He didn't get very much from her, as the conversation was controlled by "elly" who repeatedly asked him mundane questions like how his school was and what he ate for meals. It came off as creepy, but Kazuki persisted until he managed to get a word in edge-wise.

doerayegon: _any idea what the hell is happening in this city?_

elly: _lolz maybe._

doerayegon: … _that doesn't really help… I don't have time for trolls. Bye._

elly: _wait! mB i do. but first_…

doerayegon: _for the last time, girl scout cookies are not made from real girl scouts._

elly: _damn. Nope. if u wanna know… u hve to catch us 1st!_

doerayego: _us? who's us?_

elly: _wich one? lolz. XD g2g3_

_elly logged out._

It was rather frustrating. There will always be trolls on the internet…

"Hey, careful. You're about to trip on a rock," a boy's voice warned. Kazuki snapped out of thoughts and dodged the devious boulder. Thankful, he turned to face the boy and express it. Sitting on a bench was a grey-haired boy with a dreamy look on his face. He was dressed in casual clothing, muted colors, and was listening with a pair of headphones. Kazuki usually didn't interact with many juniors, but he was surprised to see someone seemingly distracted warn him from a painful fall.

"Thanks man, I owe you one," Kazuki said, plopping down on the bench beside him. The other boy didn't mind and merely scooted over to make room. Kazuki continued to sort through his thoughts as his companion listened to his music. A few minutes passed before he could brave a conversation.

"So, what are you listening to?" He asked, curious enough to compare their taste in music. The boy paused his music, reached for one of his ear buds, and handed it to Kazuki. The senior stuck it in his own ear and listened. The song was of a violin playing to the rhythm of a piano in the background, or at least that's what he thought he was hearing. He was no musician, but he recognized that this was quality classical music.

"That's pretty classy, didn't know there were guys my age into that. Who's playing?" Kazuki inquired.

"David Oistrakh's _Vocalise_," the grey boy replied. Kazuki raised an eyebrow at his minimalist response. A boy playing hard to get? Some people are just hard to please.

"Oh come on, you can do better than that. Name's Kazuki, what's yours?" he introduced, holding out his hand. The boy looked at it, and then took it with his own.

"Kyousuke. Nice to meet you," he greeted. As his shoulder moved, Kazuki swore he saw a flash of what might be a tattoo on his neck. His collar covered it on its own before he could get a better look.

"So Kyousuke, why are you into classical?"

"I play the violin; it is my inspiration after all."

"Ah, I see. A musician, very nice," Kazuki complimented. Kyousuke nodded in agreement. Kazuki suddenly stood up.

"Well, it's getting late. Feel like getting a bite to eat?"

The two boys left, in search of food.

* * *

School was rather boring the next day. For the last couple weeks Mami had gotten used to using telepathy and conversing with her juniors, but without Kyubey that wasn't possible. Instead, she was stuck in class with absolutely no distraction. Even Botan, her new friend, was in a different class with Sayaka and Madoka. Aki, the only one who could possibly find an excuse to barge into her classroom, was still skipping school. She hadn't been home for the last few days either. The only one keeping her company was Charlotte, who entertained herself quietly by gnawing on Mami's head. This scared someone behind her when her drills began waving around on their own, but Mami hand waved this as nerves.

"Om nom nom," the witch mumbled as she chewed on Mami's head. It was painless, more annoying than anything, probably because her fiercer form with the actual teeth was sealed away. Mami worried that Aki's distance might weaken the magic and lead to a bad accident. _What would she say? Mami mogu?_ Mami thought, trying to be amused. Funnily enough, the only Japanese her friend knew translated to English. Apparently the translation magic switched her words around and make English into Japanese, and vice versa.

Mami was a model student, one who knew the importance of studying, but that didn't mean she had to enjoy her classes. Why bother with Japanese history when she can be battling witches and saving kissed victims? But if she slipped up and degraded to that flawed mindset, other girls would follow suit and lose faith in her. Therefore, Mami refused to digress and paid attention to her teacher, who was rambling about some war.

Eventually, with what felt like an eternity, school finally ended. In the locker room Mami was retrieving some belongings when a piece of paper floated out. Before any other girls could grab it and make a scene, Mami snatched it and hid it in her book from prying eyes.

"So how was the hunt with Homura?" Mami asked, genuinely curious. She only got a brief look at Homura's fighting ability, which mostly consisted of shooting actual guns. At least her muskets had an aesthetic appeal and didn't need to reload. Sayaka stretched and pulled her arms behind her head.

"It was weird. One minute she was there, the next she was someplace else. I don't know, maybe she can teleport or something. When the witch tried to eat her, she threw a grenade. I hate to admit it, but I like her style. Stuff blowing up is awesome," Sayaka reported, grinning. Of course, after all the training Mami put her through, Sayaka was slowly improving. Familiars were almost flies to her.

"Interesting… spatial distortion? Maybe her wish was to be someplace else?" Mami theorized, wondering about her unusual colleague. Mami abruptly snapped her fingers.

"Oh, that's right. I almost forgot. Just when we were leaving school I found this in my locker," Mami told her friends, pulling out the letter from her bag. Sayaka and Madoka squealed at the sight of it. It was pink envelope, closed with a heart wax seal. A confession?

"Wow! Mami is incredibly popular!" Madoka exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement. Like Hitomi, Mami was a girl used to regularly being confessed to. Unlike Hitomi, her reasons for turning them down were solely business rather than personal taste.

"What are you going to do?" Sayaka asked earnestly. Even if her friend was used to be idolized by the boys of their school, it was still exciting to see someone confessing. Girls will be girls.

"Same thing I always do. I'll hear him out, and turn him down gently. A magical girl has no time for a boyfriend," Mami recited, proud of her conviction. As much as she'd like the companionship, she's heard of failed relationships due to random witch encounters. Nothing ruins a date more than your girlfriend disappearing for twenty minutes and returning disheveled.

"Um, Mami. I don't think that's a 'him,' " Sayaka pointed out as Mami opened her letter. A waft of strong odor arose from its depths. Someone had applied heavy perfume to the letter, and alongside the signature was the unmistakable mark of a kiss etched with emerald lipstick. Well, there was always time for a first.

"Wait a minute," Sayaka snatched the letter from Mami. She tried to protest, but was quickly silenced by Sayaka's revelations.

_Dear Mami Tomoe…_

_… regret to inform you…_

_… league of…_

_… a challenge to…_

_… fight to the death._

"This is, this is, this is…" Sayaka breathed in apprehension.

"What is it?" Mami asked gently, but annoyed.

"This is boring! Scrap!" Sayaka announced, crumpling the piece of paper, "A letter of challenge? What kind of school does she think this is? Who writes a letter of challenge anyway? Did you start dating a boy with a mysterious past or something? Might have pissed off an ex."

"I suppose this is somewhat immature. But it'd be foolish to ignore it. I wouldn't want any of you getting in the crossfire," Mami reasoned to her blue friend.

"Mami never loses, right Sayaka?" Madoka piped up, elbowing her friend in the ribs. Sayaka laughed.

"What's she gonna do? Pull Mami's hair? I know you can't pull out any of you muskets, but I'm sure you can pack a punch!"

"Yeah," Mami answered, smiling. She was glad her friends supported her, but she didn't want to resort to violence if she could avoid it. She began to walk again with her friends, but staggered.

"Hey Mami, what's wrong?" Madoka asked, supported her friend with her shoulder.

"Blood… to brain… lost… get it off," Mami panted, having nearly fainted. Sayaka sighed, pulled out pliers from her backpack, and proceeded to remove Charlotte from Mami's cranium.


	9. Chapter 8: Trinity

**Author's Note:** _Not my favorite chapter, but necessary. Enjoy._

**_EDIT: _**_The story, for any who actually reads this, is currently on hiatus because of a huge school workload. Not to mention a funeral. So I will return in a couple weeks._

Chapter 8: Trinity

A storm was brewing in Mitakihara, and the aged Catholic matron felt it in her bones. She's seen many things in her years managing the orphanage, more than most people would believe. Changing winds were not new.

"Granny, what are you doing? We got another delivery," a young voice called from the doorway, watching the matron sweep the porch while lost in thought. The matron breathed deeply and faced her ward.

"Do you feel it dear? It's magic. Magic is in the air," the matron warned. They lived in the suburbs of the large city, but any event would greatly affect them as well. The small girl laughed and grabbed the matron's free hand.

"Whatever grams! You're so silly. Come on, she sent another gift," she teased lovingly. The matron sighed and looked back at the city. It had been many years since, but she would never forget the feeling she now had. Whether or not there was a magic, nothing good would come from it. The matron went back inside.

* * *

"You're not seriously thinking about accepting it, are you?" Sayaka asked as she watched her senior practice martial arts on a dummy. With enough magic ribbons, dirt, and a little creativity anything was possible. Mami didn't have proper instruction, but fighting witches did wonders for one's form.

"No, I'm not. But I have to be ready in case she's preemptively aggressive. I've had experiences like this before," Mami answered, delivering a roundhouse kick to the dummy. She wasn't exercising for the sake of well executed strikes; she was trying to master the form to reduce her striking power. After all, one uncontrolled punch would lead to fractured bones, property damage, and blood on her hands. When fighting normal humans it was necessary to control her augmented strength.

After an hour of training, magical and mundane, the two girls went to the senior's apartment. The sun was starting to lower onto the horizon, but Sayaka decided to head on over anyway. After all it was Friday, and she didn't have any club activities the next day. There was no rush to head home, but she didn't want to wear out her welcome too soon. Botan's adored girls' night was a day away and she wouldn't miss it for the world, especially since Mami's confrontation was scheduled right before it.

"What do you think Sayaka? Is it a ruse, or a serious challenge?" Mami inquired, pondering about her unknown opponent. As part of their training Mami had forced her to study several subjects, including chess to learn to predict her opponent's moves by mimicking their thoughts. Unfortunately for Sayaka, it was not a class she could sleep through.

"Hm, well the wording is childish and the date is for tomorrow, so that means your opponent did not plan this very well. She's either really snobby or really stupid," Sayaka guessed earnestly. Mami didn't answer, but merely thought about Sayaka's musings.

"Do you ever have the feeling that something's… off?" Sayaka asked, sipping her tea. They had arrived and were quickly served by Botan, who had prepared their tea and had dinner well on the way. The two girls patiently drank the bitter liquid and continued their chat.

"What do you mean? Other than the recent weather, everything's been fine," Mami replied, wondering what Sayaka could have meant.

"Well, I mean fighting witches is challenging and all, but everything seems so slow lately. Like we're missing something…" the swordswoman trailed off, wondering about the implications of her words. Mami sipped the last few drops of her tea before answering.

"Well, Aki's been gone for a while," she suggested. Sayaka shook her head in response.

"No, it's not that. She certainly changes things wherever she goes, but I meant something is missing. Like, something was supposed to happen but didn't," she theorized, not truly knowing what she felt. It was a hunch, but apparently her mentor didn't agree.

"Just relax. Everything will be alright," Mami comforted Sayaka. She nodded in agreement and finished her tea in suit.

"Speaking of Aki, what do you think about her anyway?" Sayaka asked. This type of question was common among girls, but it had been awhile since Mami had participated in such idle chitchat. She took a moment to compose a legitimate response.

"I think she's more mature than she lets on, but would rather enjoy herself than worry about anything she deems trivial."

"What do you mean by that?"

"She takes her training seriously, but you have to remember this is the girl who threw away her gender without a second thought. She didn't have much choice, but she made it."

"Much choice?"

"Sayaka, she's across the ocean from her homeland, and potentially an entire universe. The only way she'd ever make it here is with a little assistance," Mami answered sternly. It was true; making a contract came with more than the flair of magic.

"Speaking of assistance, where's Kyubey been?" Sayaka whispered, not wanting Botan to ever hear that name.

"Hm, I haven't given him any thought lately. So much has happened," Mami shrugged.

"Dinner!" Botan (apron included) cheered joyfully, serving up another well-earned meal.

* * *

"Twenty-three, a new record! You've gotten pretty good at hunting. No so hard after all?" a particular red-haired girl praised, something she never did lightly. The distinct orange ginger laughed.

"Well, you can only study so much. Looks like I lost the bet after all," she laughed jovially. The red-head slapped her on the back as they boarded the bus to home.

"You're all right! Seriously though, you're buying. You suck at stealing apples."

"At least I know how to camp outside a hotel."

"Shut up, ass."

"Jerk."

"Perv."

"Tsk. Touche."

The redhead jokingly punched the girl in the shoulder as they sat down in the bus, ready to go home.

* * *

Today was the promised day. Botan, in her excitement, had run out of the house early morning to get supplies for dinner. Mami understood that the girl was used to poverty and never had the opportunity to cook many varieties of food, but was willing to spoil her in favor of her excellent cooking. Apparently practice was all she needed. Everyone who had been invited planned to show up, including: Madoka, Sayaka, Hitomi, Aki, and possibly Kyoko. Mami was wary of the last one, as she had set forth the invitation, but Botan made it clear she wanted to interact more with her peers. It was joyous to see everyone else was willing to put forth the effort as well, despite any extracurricular activities.

Mami was getting ready through her morning stretch, ready to talk down this mysterious girl. The scheduled time was early enough not to risk being late, but she wanted to be ready. Even if it was a trap, she could fall back on her powers and scare anybody off. Who would believe such malarkey anyway? No one has magic powers, especially a cute teenage girl like herself!

"Heh, a little full of myself today, aren't we?" she whispered to herself in amusement. It was good for one's psych to stay positive, and a little cockiness was allowed when dealing with humans. It was only against witches that she really needed to stay on her guard. Except for the occasional mugger, she's never really had any human conflicts.

Thus began her trek to the battleground. Her opponent had chosen a back alley near the not-so-abandoned warehouse in the city, aware from the scrutiny of any passersby. The day was a little chillier than others, because of the recent winds, but overall still refreshing and cool on the skin. It didn't look like it would rain, but Mami opted for caution and brought an umbrella. In case of emergency, it'd make a good bludgeoning weapon.

The alley was empty. To her credit, Mami had arrived ten minutes early. Punctuality was one her charms. She walked deeper into it, scanning the area for a girl. Behind her, a small muffled noise sounded. Quick as lightning, she spun around and whipped up her umbrella threateningly. A smaller girl gulped and raised her hands reactively, staring at the pointed end aimed an inch form her neck.

"Are you the one who challenged me?" Mami asked, bemused. The girl was like a smaller version of Madoka's friend, Hitomi, shorter green hair and all. She was even shorter than Madoka! Hardly an intimidating threat, talking her down would be easy.

"Um yes! I just wanted to talk, that's all," the girl whimpered, eyeing the umbrella warily. Mami lowered it a few inches, smiling.

"Then what was all that about a fight to the death?" She teasingly interrogated.

"That was my friend, I swear! She just wanted to make it sound interesting, but I didn't have time to rewrite it!" the ivy girl cried. Mami was about to lower her guard, but a subtle feeling in the back of her mind held her back. She narrowed her eyes and raised the umbrella.

"You made a contract with Kyubey, didn't you?" Mami yelled, swiftly swinging back her umbrella to strike in perfect timing with her accusation, creating panic in the girl before her.

"No! I'm not a magical girl!" the girl screamed, holding up her arms to block. A few seconds passed before she lowered them to peer at Mami. Mami had her arm propped up on the umbrella condescendingly, gloating at the girl. It took another few seconds before she realized what she had said. The girl sighed and explained.

"Alright, you got me. My name is Mariko. But I came here as a warning. You need to leave the city, or you'll get in the way," Mariko explained, crossing her arms. This sudden command struck at Mami's curiosity.

"What do you mean I'll get in the way? Who's way? Are you seeking this territory for yourself?" Mami demanded to know, having experienced border disputes in the past. It was obvious this girl had contracted, as she had assumed a more comfortable pose. An umbrella was no threat to her.

"Yes, and no. Trust me, I don't need grief seeds. But you'll be getting in _our_ way," said Mariko, who was reaching into her pocket. In reaction, Mami dropped the umbrella to raise her hand.

"You know what? Just forget about it!" another voice piped up from behind. Mami whipped around and caught her assailant's arm, which was in the middle of a chopping motion aimed for her neck. Behind her a tomboyish girl had approached, wearing a butler outfit and steel gauntlets. Even her magenta hair was short and boyish.

_click_

"Um, miss, I think you might want to watch where you're pointing that thing," the new girl uttered nervously, staring at the flintlock pistol Mami had conjured.

"Rena, I think a better place she ought to be watching is her back," Mariko exclaimed. Mami felt something poke her back, most likely a staff of sorts. The small girl laughed.

"Tell you what, drop the gun, and I don't blast you," Mariko bargained cheerfully, bewildering the veteran magical girl. From her peripheral vision Mami saw a mundane appearing staff aimed at her back. Fortunately all her training had prepared her for a moment like this.

Quick on the draw, Mami leaned forward and shoved Rena back, placed a foot on her chest, and leaped into the air, back flipping to land behind Mariko. Before the two rogues had a chance to gather their thoughts, Mami had transformed and was aiming two muskets at them.

"Oh come on! That's cheating!" Mariko whined, pointing her wooden staff at Mami. Her outfit was maid cosplay, for some odd reason. Rena wore a butler's uniform as well. No matter how peculiar these two were, Mami had a feeling they weren't going to be serving tea. A strange black miasma began forming as Mariko aimed toward Mami.

_bang bang_

"Wahhh!" Mariko cried as she toppled backwards. Mami had expertly shot at her staff to unbalance her. The maid girl tripped over and landed on her rear. Her partner couldn't help but face palm.

"I swear Mariko; you can be all talk and then… just this. My turn," she announced, running toward Mami. She fired a few shots, but the butler-esque girl dodged nimbly to the side. Rena was incredibly fast. The older girl reached into her pocket and drew out a small black orb. Before she realized what was happening, Rena threw it at Mami. Instinctively she shot at it while jumping back. This released a black smoke cloud, obscuring Mami's vision. In the midst of the smoke, Rena flitted in and poked Mami's forehead.

_bang_

Mariko leaped to one side of the alleyway, barely dodging one of Mami's bullets. She was less experienced, but quick enough on her feet. Before another barrage of missiles could come her way, she fired off a miasmatic charge. Mami easily dodged it, not wanting to see its effects. The two fired back and forth a couple times, not creating much progress. In a narrow alley, maneuverability was difficult and to summon more than two muskets would be impractical, not to mention potentially lethal. Mami didn't want to harm the girl more than she had to, but the battle had to end soon.

"Oof! Let me go!" Mariko screamed as conjured ribbons entangled her, binding her a foot in the air. One ribbon latched onto the staff and attempted to pull it out of her grasp.

"Tsk, forgot about your magic. Better fix that," a mysterious voice whispered in Mami's ear. Before she could turn around, something poked her head.

More weapon fire was exchanged. It took a while, but Mami felt tired of the drawn-out skirmish and felt… bored. She was holding back because of the other girl's age and lack of experience. She sighed as she dodged another shot. Mariko was a horrible fighter, but very good at dodging blows. She had tried leaping toward her and striking with melee, but Mariko dodged like a monk. The two's fight lasted for about ten minutes before anything significant happened.

"My apologies, but this has to be the crappiest fight in history. I'm ending it now," a voice piped up from behind Mami. Before she could react, two strong arms wrapped around her head in a choking hold. Mami pulled on the arms desperately before she lost oxygen. She couldn't see her assailant, hell she couldn't see much of anything because of those strong arms. Her assailant's grip tightened, as if she were squirming as much as Mami. Mami had a feeling there was something she could do, but what magic did she possess to break the hold?

Her chokehold abruptly ended. The person behind Mami suddenly slackened her grip and completely released her. Mami (finally) turned around to face her. A tomboy (_Rena!_ Mami remembered) lay on the ground, dazed. Green ooze dripped from her face. In front of her a familiar girl leaped from the rooftop and landed in the alleyway, joining the three other girls.

"Aki? What are you doing here?" Mami asked her friend while Mariko fussed over her partner. The situation was defused along with her opponents' fighting spirit. She didn't know how, but Mariko had support to draw out the fight.

"I searched for you as soon as I heard these two were looking for me. Geez! Let me see your soul gem…" Aki explained as she caressed Mami's hairpin, ensuring not much corruption had taken place. For some reason Mami felt an odd tickling sensation. Aki held up two fingers.

"How many?"

"Two. Why?"

"Fighting these two often come with disorientation. Name?"

"Mine? Tomoe Mami… why are you asking this?"

"Just answer the questions! Powers?"

"I summon muskets and…" Mami trailed off in confusion. She was starting to get a headache. Aki sighed in relief.

"Phew, so she was just playing with you. She does that, making people forget their powers. Now excuse me, I'm going to take care of this," Aki declared, somewhat amused.

"Wait! So you're going to…"

"Going to kill them? Sure am!" Aki smiled brightly and turned around. Mariko's expression as she held Rena was one of shock, confusion, and mostly fear. Aki slowly walked toward her menacingly, her smile never relenting.

"Oh, hey Aki… how ya doing?" Mariko asked meekly. Rena quickly hopped up, recovered, and dashed toward Aki.

_bang_

Rena once again fell unconscious, having been shot a stunning blow from Mami. Mariko held up her staff aggressively and prepared to fire.

"Nice shot!" Aki complimented, having not bothered to flinch. Mami nodded in agreement.

"My turn!" Mariko screamed as she fired her miasma bolt. In response, Aki threw her arm out behind her, quickly popped out a piece of silk from her cannon and infused it with orange energy. Right before the black miasma would hit her, Aki brought forth her outstretched hand and briefly glowed orange. A large green shield materialized from the small piece of silk, causing the magic energy to bounce off harmlessly. All this in one seamless action.

"Crap," Mariko commented in amazement. Mami was off her game because of outside intervention, but nothing could stop the skilled-up Aki. Mariko tried firing a volley of miasmic bolts, but Aki blocked them with shield after shield. In desperation, Mariko leaped forward to swing an energy filled strike, but was parried easily by Aki who shoved her hand into Mariko's stomach.

"Ouch," Mariko whispered as Aki's nails speared through her torso, piercing her back. Aki had been careful to avoid any vital organs, but wanted to make her point across. And to make her understand she was serious.

"Ugh, what happened?" Rena asked as she sat up, rubbing her magenta scalp. She observed the scene in front of her and noticed Mariko lying on the ground, drooling blood.

"What the hell?" Rena yelled as she jumped up. As if karma had reared its head at her predicament, Rena suddenly found herself unable to jump in attack. A quick glance down revealed two ribbons binding her ankles to the ground. Rena narrowed her eyes as she glared at Mami, who was smiling widely.

"Woops, looks like I remembered after all," she teased, waiting for Aki to finish the deed. Rena, having no ranged offensive ability, knew she was (literally) stuck in a corner. She tried to negotiate a truce.

"Look Aki, we can talk about this, we didn't mean anything by it!" Rena flailed pathetically. Aki continued to smile at her in forced joy.

"First, you deceive her, then mess with her mind, and threaten to kill her when she says no. And yet you have the audacity to beg for mercy? I should kill you now," Aki cheerfully chirped. Her words and tone did not match; something that unsettled Rena. Aki continued.

"Maybe there'd be a time I'd show mercy, but you've chosen the absolute worst day to irk me. I don't care if you're my coworker; you have no right to ruin today, a very special day for me."

"Wait, how'd you know about the slumber party? I mean, you're invited, but you just got back…" Mami asked, confused. Aki sighed before giving a response.

"It's been three weeks. Three weeks I've been here. Yet today is the day you decide to bother me…" Aki muttered. Rena tried once more to plead.

"What's wrong with today-"

"I'M ON MY *$ #&*$# PERIOD!" Aki screamed at high volumes, splitting Rena's earlobes. In anger and irritation, Aki leaped thirty feet straight into the air. Rena's eyes widened. Aki raised both hands and popped out silk from her cannon, and molded it into a specific shape with her magic. Just when she reached her maximum jump height, she infused it with her magic to create the ultimate weapon.

"_BIG *&# #%* HAMMER_!" Aki screamed, louder than Rena was as she stared at the green behemoth hammer brought down upon her. As a giant delivering judgment would have done, Aki brought down the hammer with her heightened strength.

"I have no idea what to say," Mami commented as she viewed the crater Rena was now lying in, clothes torn and singed. Akiscoffed.

"Next time I'll really kill her. Now help me tie them up," Aki ordered as she dragged Rena's body to Mariko. With a healthy combination of magic silk and ribbons, they bound the two miscreants together and carried them to the warehouse nearby.

"Are you sure we should have put them together?" Mami asked as she rested them on the warehouse's floor.

"Yeah, it'll take them longer to escape," Aki assured confidently. Mami played with one of her drills in confusion.

"How does that work? It'd be harder if they're separate…"

"I said it'd take them longer, not make it harder. Trust me, they'll take their time."

"Why would they linger in- Oh? Are they..?"

"Yup. Completely, utterly, and definitely lesbians," Aki confirmed, kicking the pair with her new boots. They were a grey with a tint of rusted orange, an upgrade from her previous brown boots. She got them cheaply from a thrift store with less than twenty dollars.

"You don't seem all that happy about that," Mami prodded, half joking.

"First, we work together at a cosplay café. I'm officially immune to lesbians now. Second, right now all I want to do is brutally slaughter everything and make babies with it." This brutal revelation shocked Mami for a total of three seconds.

"Welcome to womanhood," Mami replied, slapping Aki on the back. The hammer trick needed improvement, but boy was it scary. A single thought Mami stopped for a moment.

"So they were playing with us? That's what seems to be going on… Then why was she trying to strangle me?" Mami's probing caught the irritated Aki off guard.

"Um, she wasn't choking you…"

"Seemed like it to me."

"Let's just say a wrestler's hold does wonders for the view." Mami only stared, appalled.

* * *

"So why did she single me out exactly?" Mami asked Aki as they entered her apartment complex. Aki scratched her head before replying.

"Well, I suppose she wanted to play around. You've run into each other years before, but I doubt you'd remember that. I think it was because I mentioned you and your developed… _personality_ a few times," Aki explained as she threw her schoolbag onto the table. Inside it was her pickings from the hunting getaway she had taken with Kyoko and her coworkers': five grief seeds. Mami had impressed by Aki's sudden improvement, but felt a twinge of jealousy when Aki mentioned Kyoko was the one who had improvised her new fighting style. Her silk was highly reactive to magic, which made using something as inefficient as _transformation_ effective. Why hadn't Mami thought of that? After all, she was the one who spent months studying magic in her free time.

"Why would they go through all that trouble just to see my _personality_?" Mami asked, respecting Aki's choice of vernacular. She would be punished for anything out of line she had said to them, but for now Mami would merely listen. That time of month exponentially boosted a girl's power, at least making them more fierce and quick to violence. In response to Mami's question, Aki shrugged.

"Hell if I know. They already have each other. Personally, one pair is enough; sneaking a peek is not worth life and death. Be happy she didn't do some mind meld thing and convince you that you've been living in a closet like-"

"Hey guys! Just in time!" A familiar mundane voice cried out. Botan, brown pigtails and all, was carrying grocery bags when she kicked open the door and staggered in. The two other girls helped her out and readied the kitchen for the night. The afternoon was already nigh, and their guests would soon be arriving. Tonight's dinner would be a special ramen prepared with other cookeries Botan had dreamed up.

"So, I'm curious. What do girls do at sleepovers?" Aki asked, as she chopped up something that looked like onions, but was completely odorless. Mami, stirring the noodles, answered immediately.

"Nothing special. Games, conversation, maybe play with each other's hair. Why? Did you think sleepovers were different in Japan?" Mami responded, referring to Aki's ethnicity.

"Well, I guess not. Every sleepover I went to involved board games, video games, and eventually everyone would start taking off their pants- Wai-wait! Those were the guys! My bad!" Aki stuttered, remembering that she had to act at a minimal level of femininity, "Most parties I've been to just have food and some truth or dares. I guess reality is dull, isn't it?"

"Truth or dare? I've never played that," Mami commented, holding up the wooden spoon by her cheek in thought. Botan mentioned she hadn't either as she chopped up various vegetables.

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Aki proposed, lodging the idea in the other two's heads. While everyone's thoughts turned to their respective imagination, the doorbell rang.

Madoka and Sayaka arrived together with Hitomi in tow. Aki and Mami had hoped to see Kyoko mingle with the group, but the fiery redhead was nowhere to be seen.

"This is boring," Aki eventually complained, her vitality drained by seemingly hours of idle chit chat. She sat down leaning on the table eating pocky. She had changed into a more casual outfit to relax in, blue jeans and a green tank top. Unbeknownst to everyone, Aki had envisioned the Americans' dream of an all-girl sleepover: talks about everyone's sizes, nail polish, and most importantly the pillow fights.

_Oh god the pillow fights!_

Except everyone insisted on talking about school and their friends. Aki sighed and leaned backwards on the table. After all of Botan's excitement, were they seriously going to spend all this time doing exactly what they do every day? Sure, they weren't going to go out hunting for the obvious reasons, but a little variation wouldn't kill them. Mami was giving a lecture on Madoka's recent school lessons, and the importance of studying. Hitomi and Sayaka were talking about boys and various ways to attract them. Hitomi struck Aki as the alpha princess type, something she's seen over and over at San Francisco. The kind of girl who could attract each and every boy she pleased, but would eventually go for the boy her friends drooled over. Aki did not think the two would get along. In fact, it took every ounce of her willpower to reign in her hormonal rage from lashing out at any provocation.

"Hello? Earth to Akiharuuuumi" Hitomi called, drawing out the nickname. Aki snapped her head to her left and received a smack in return.

"Ow! What was that for?" Aki cried, rubbing her head.

"Sorry! Didn't you see me waving?" Hitomi apologized, waving her hand in front of Aki's face. Aki's right eye rolled in response. Hitomi eyes squinted as she leaned forward.

"Hey, your hair is a little… messy. I can take care of that for you," Hitomi offered as she raised a hand toward Aki's bangs. It wasn't noticeable enough to have drawn any comments from Mami, but Aki had begun wearing her bangs to cover the left-side of her face. It was the current fashion in Japan at the time.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Hitomi demanded as Aki grabbed her wrist. In response to her question, Aki tightened her grip with inhuman strength. This made Hitomi wince, worried that her fragile wrist might break. The two maintained eye contact for a moment before Aki spoke.

"Please don't touch me. I'm sorry, it's just…" Aki apologized. Nature's monster had taken over inside her, and had lashed out. To put Hitomi at ease, Aki revealed the reason for her sudden sensitivity by brushing aside her bangs. Where her left eye used to be was a pink eye patch, its straps trailing her hairline and hidden by her bangs. Hitomi eyes traced the pink strap across Aki's face in concerned curiosity. The other girls took notice of the two's conversation and spent a moment gawking at Aki. The attention made Aki uncomfortable to the point of taking action.

"Um, yeah. Just got hit by a bat a little… doc says it'll heal in a week or so," Aki lied. Only two people in the group knew the truth, having seen what was lacking underneath.

"It looks cute! You look kind of like a lady pirate!" Madoka attempted to cheer up Aki, but immediately piped down when she was shot a furious look. Sayaka noticed, and glared back at Aki.

"Aaaargh, ye land lubbers get on my nerves," Aki shook her head and raised her hands up dramatically, trying to salvage the mood. As much as her hormones were egging her on, she did not want the evening to end with Sayaka trying to kick her again. "I need me some rum. But since we don't have any... How about that truth or dare game?"

The rules were simple, as Aki explained. Spin the bottle, chosen one chooses truth or dare. Any chickening out would lead to a penalty game. First one up was Madoka.

"Sayaka, truth or dare?" Madoka asked cheerfully, intending to enjoy the game.

"Dare!" Sayaka grinned in anticipation. She knew full well that Madoka was naïve and innocent, and that she could take on any chall-

"Lick your elbow." Madoka's dare dropped Sayaka's spirits instantly. Everyone couldn't help but laugh at Sayaka's spectacle as she attempted to do the impossible. Lest of injury, she was forgiven of her inability to do so. Everyone still found it funny.

"Madoka, truth or dare?" Hitomi asked. Madoka chose truth. "Do you still dream about Ms. Akemi?" Madoka promptly turned red and shook her head. Sayaka burst out laughing, understanding the meaning of the question. Mami and Botan exchanged a perplexed glance while Aki smirked. It was now _her_ turn.

Aki spun the bottle. The bottle spun fiercely, as if the gods themselves debated on the destiny of the chosen one. Sayaka clutched the hem of her dress in despair, praying to the higher power that she would not receive the retribution for all the times she punished the pervert. Madoka crossed her fingers that she would not be embarrassed again. Hitomi and Botan secretly hoped it would be them this time. Mami was ambivalent, wondering about where Aki's recent mindset had gone. Should she be worried, or attribute everything recent to Aki's awakening womanhood?

The bottle slowed and lingered on Sayaka, pressuring the girl into a cold sweat. _Is this the end? I'm too young to die_ thought the blue-haired girl. As if the wind spirits themselves had heard her prayer, a small draft pushed the bottle to the one beside her. thus sealing her fate.

"Mami, truth… or dare?" Aki asked mischievously, placing a finger on her lips. Mami's heart began thumping in desperation. Botan and Hitomi weren't allowed to know Aki's secret, but even then it was a risk having her at a girl's sleepover. She worried about the possibilities of either choice and weighed her options. An embarrassing dare or an equally embarrassing truth? She didn't have many secrets because of her withdrawn lifestyle, but what was rumored about her was embarrassing enough to fret about. Even with all her power and skill, she was still a teenage girl. But her juniors were surrounding her and she needed to provide a role model nonetheless, so she made the proper decision.

"Dare," she answered confidently. A feeling of doom settled over every girl, including the non-magical ones that knew Aki's character well enough. What horrendous torture did she have in mind?

"I dare you…" Aki stood up dramatically while pointing at Mami. Aki had to make a decision: rationality and a reasonable dare, or give in to her innermost desires? She didn't want to upset anyone, and she-

Oh who are we kidding? Isn't it obvious what she's going to do?

"To kiss Botan!"

"Eh?"


End file.
